DWR: Utah prairie dogs ready to go it on their own — off endangered species list

Utah prairie dog. Photo: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

SALT LAKE CITY,  Utah, Nov. 26, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — State wildlife officials are preparing to recommend Utah’s comeback prairie dogs be taken off the endangered species list.

“The Utah prairie dog has been listed under the Endangered Species Act since 1973,” reads a Utah Division of Wildlife Resources press release. “Conservation, management, monitoring, research, and public outreach actions by state and federal agencies, local governments, nonprofit organizations, and private landowners initiated in the 1970s and continuing today facilitated a rebound in the abundance and distribution of Utah prairie dogs.”

The DWR didn’t release any prairie dog head counts this week, instead describing their resurgence in academic terms.

“Long-term data demonstrate that the range-wide population of the Utah prairie dog, while variable year-to-year, has been stable or increasing over a period of nearly three decades.

“Thus, UDWR maintains the species should be federally delisted.”

The DWR has scheduled hearings from Nov. 29 to Jan. 3 with its five Regional Advisory Councils to gather public comment on the prairie dog proposals, as well as adjustments proposed to regulations regarding bear, cougar and other hunts. Dates and details are available at wildlife.utah.gov/rac-feedback.html.

Through memorandums of agreement, the division and partners commit to conservation actions in three management areas spread across the range of the prairie dog — the West Desert, Paunsaugunt, and Awapa Plateau, writes Kimberly Hersey, DWR mammal conservation coordinator.

Each area will be managed at population levels “both achievable and adequate to ensure long-term viability” via a conservation strategy, which also includes ongoing monitoring to inform decision-making and track long-term trends, she said.

Hersey said transfer of management of prairie dogs from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the DWR upon delisting has advantages.

“We expect that upon state management, not only will long-fought gains be maintained, but also, without the stigma of Endangered Species Act listing, additional opportunities for collaborative conservation will be realized,” she said.

While recovery efforts continue to focus on public lands, “the strategy acknowledges the conservation value of Utah prairie dogs on private lands,” Hersey said.

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