A Western state conservation agreement to manage the black-tailed prairie dog has helped the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine that while the species warrants a "threatened" listing under the Endangered Species Act it will not propose to list it at this time.
"This conservation agreement is an excellent first step toward the recovery of the black-tailed prairie dog," stated Ralph Morgenweck in a prepared USFWS news release. Morgenweck is the USFWS’s regional director for the Mountain-Prairie Region in Denver. "The next step is to take concrete actions on the ground with clearly established goals and deadlines. If together we can make progress in recovering the species, we may reach a time when listing the species will no longer be warranted."
On behalf of the State of Montana, last fall Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks helped to draft a conservation assessment and strategy to conserve the black-tailed prairie dog over its 11-state range. In addition to Montana, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, South Dakota, Texas, Arizona, and Oklahoma signed the agreement. The strategy emerged in response to the National Wildlife Federation’s 1998 petition to list the black-tailed prairie dog as a "threatened" species.
Morgenweck stated the USFWS is eager to work in partnership with the states to put the conservation plan into action.
FWP Director Patrick J. Graham said he was disappointed with the USFWS "warranted but precluded" decision because they are not threatened in Montana, yet pleased that Montana’s effort played a role in delaying immediate listing of prairie dogs. Graham noted that a the USFWS issued a similar decision for the swift fox in 1994 and is now in the process of removing the swift fox’s "warranted but precluded" designation in response to a successful multi-state conservation management plan.
"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has essentially determined that the black-tailed prairie dog warrants a ‘threatened’ listing under the Endangered Species Act because there are 26 other animals in the pipeline that are actually in greater need of protection," Graham said. "We can take some pride in our efforts. In the end we know the conservation costs for species like the prairie dog, wolf, swift fox and many others are far more than any state can bear."
Graham said Congress is now considering a bill--the "Conservation and Reinvestment Act" (HR 701)-- that would fund such programs. The funding would come from existing revenues paid to the federal government by oil companies that produce oil from offshore drilling rigs. Montana could see an infusion of more than $5.8 million to help conserve and manage animals like wolves, prairie dogs, grizzly bears and other wildlife species under CARA. The bill also includes financial incentives for private landowners to maintain threatened species and for negotiating conservation easements.
Graham said the federal government expects that states, tribes, local communities and private landowners will play a vital role in securing the future of the black-tailed prairie dog over the next few years. The eight-state conservation agreement provides general guidelines to help them implement a strategy for black-tailed prairie dog conservation and recovery. Graham said that has occurred in Montana because of a positive, constructive working relationship with landowners. Actions anticipated in the conservation plan include designating it as a species in need of management, regulated seasons for shooting of prairie dogs, maintaining prairie dog habitat, setting population goals for each FWP region, a prairie dog monitoring program, and development of incentives for prairie dog conservation on private lands.
"Each state believes the conservation agreement is the most reasonable approach for conserving black-tailed prairie dogs and other prairie species," Graham stressed. "In Montana we’re about to complete our own in-state plan for prairie dog management, but no state can get the job done without the proper funding. Congress must find a way to pass CARA."
Black-tailed prairie dogs are stout, burrowing animals within the squirrel family, approximately 14-17 inches long and weighing about 1-3 pounds. They are generally yellowish tan in color. They have short ears and a short tail tipped in black. Prairie dogs are active by day and live in colonies. There are seven large colonies of black-tailed prairie dogs remaining in North America. Four of those are located on tribal lands, three of which are in South Dakota and one in Montana.
About 37 percent of black-tailed prairie dog occupied habitat in Montana occurs on private lands, 6 percent on State lands, 29 percent on Federal lands, and 28 percent occurs on tribal lands. Today, about 10 percent of all occupied black-tailed prairie dog habitat in the United States currently exists in Montana.
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