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Utah prairie dog Cynomys parvidens
ESA status: threatened
Utah prairie dogs, as their name implies, are found only in Utah and have the smallest range of any prairie dog species. They are true hibernators, sleeping through the coldest winter months. When they emerge in the spring, if they want to pass on their genes they have to work fast; females are only interested in mating for a few hours, one day out of every year. This smallest of prairie dogs shares the role of keystone species with its larger cousins the black-tailed prairie dog and Gunnison’s prairie dog: they are food for predators including the kit fox, the golden eagle, and the ferruginous hawk, and their burrows are home to snakes, cottontail rabbits, burrowing owls, beetles, and salamanders, to name a few. More than 150 wildlife species benefit from the rich habitat prairie dog colonies create.
There are less than 10,000 adult Utah prairie dogs left out of a population that numbered nearly 100,000 in the 1920s, before control programs ran their course. They occupy less than 15 percent of their historic range, and their decline is mainly due to intensive poisoning efforts. Utah prairie dogs continue to suffer from habitat destruction for residential and agricultural development, plague outbreaks, and deliberate poisoning and shooting. Despite the fact that the Utah prairie dog is listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act, there is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) special rule on the books that allows up to 6,000 Utah prairie dogs to be shot every year; more than half of the entire remaining adult population! The recovery program for this species focuses on relocating prairie dog colonies out of the way of destructive human activities. A November 2014 court case caused a huge setback for conservation by turning control of prairie dogs on non-federal land over to the state.The decision goes against precedent, as all other courts have upheld the ESA's ability to protect species found in a single state, and the case is currently on appeal.
The Utah prairie dog’s listing as "threatened," though powerful, is clearly not enough to protect a species that faces not only habitat destruction but also active human persecution. WildEarth Guardians launched an effort in 2003 to secure upgraded protections for this species by petitioning FWS to reclassify it to "endangered" status and throw out the shooting rule. WildEarth Guardians will not rest until the Utah prairie dog gets the full protection it needs and deserves.
- Significant Actions
- February 2003 - WildEarth Guardians and partners petition to uplist Utah prairie dogs from “threatened” to “endangered"
- February 2007 - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issues negative preliminary finding on petition to uplist the Utah prairie dog
- October 2007 - WildEarth Guardians and partners files suit against Utah prairie dog removal plan
- February 2008 - "Report from the Burrow 2008: Forecast of the Prairie Dog" (report)
- September 2008 - WildEarth Guardians files lawsuit challenging negative preliminary finding
- February 2009 - "Report from the Burrow 2009: Forecast of the Prairie Dog" (report)
- February 2010 - "Report from the Burrow 2010: Forecast of the Prairie Dog" (report)
- September 2010 - Court rules that U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must revisit 2007 negative preliminary finding
- February 2011 - "Report from the Burrow 2011: Forecast of the Prairie Dog" (report)
- June 2011 - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposes amendments to the shooting rule
- June 2011 - WildEarth Guardians staff volunteers at Bryce Canyon’s second annual “Utah Prairie Dog Day"
- June 2011 - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service again issues negative preliminary finding on petition to uplist the Utah prairie dog from “threatened” to “endangered"
- April 2012 - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service releases final revised recovery plan for the Utah prairie dog
- August 2012 - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service adopts revised shooting rule
- November 2014 - Court rules that management of Utah prairie dogs on non-federal lands must be turned over to the state
- February 2015 - “Report from the Burrow 2015: Forecast of the Prairie Dog” (report)
- March 2015 - Utah Department of Wildlife Resources approves management plan for Utah prairie dogs on non-federal lands
- Press Releases
- February 22, 2007 - “Feds Refuse to Reclassify Utah Prairie Dog as Endangered”
- October 30, 2007 - “One of Largest Remaining Utah Prairie Dog Populations in Jeopardy”
- February 1, 2008 - "Prairie Dog Day Forecast: Unique Ecosystems Will Disappear If Feds & States Don't Improve"
- March 18, 2008 - “Feds Pressured To Protect Declining Prairie Dogs”
- September 22, 2008 - “Feds Pushing Utah Prairie Dog Toward Extinction”
- February 2, 2009 - “WildEarth Guardians Releases Prairie Dog Report Card on Groundhog Day”
- February 2, 2010 - "WildEarth Guardians Grades Government on Prairie Dog Protection"
- September 29, 2010 - "Utah Prairie Dog Court Victory"
- February 2, 2011 - “Government Agencies Are Failing the Prairie Dog Test”
- June 2, 2011 - “Service Shies Away from Meaningful Protections for Rarest U.S. Prairie Dog”
- June 15, 2011 - “Interior Withdraws Appeals on Prairie Dog Cases”
- February 2, 2012 - “State and Federal Agencies Score Poorly on Prairie Dog Report Card”
- August 2, 2012 - “Protections for Imperiled Utah Prairie Dogs Improved, but still Lacking”
- February 4, 2013 - “State and Federal Agencies Once Again Score Poorly on Prairie Dog Report Card”
- February 3, 2014 - “Seventh Annual Prairie Dog Report Card Released”
- Species Factsheet
- Related Campaigns