Prairie dogs nearer to endangered status
The Rocky
Published December 2, 2008 at 2:45 p.m.
Photo by Dennis Schroeder © The Rocky
A prairie dog pokes its head out of its hole in a prairie dog colony in Westminster.
The black-tailed prairie dog, the furry sentinel of Colorado's Eastern plains, may win the Endangered Species designation that its champions crave.
Love them or hate them, there is no disputing that they once lay claim to some 90 million acres east of the Rockies, and now they've been squeezed into less than 2 million.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service today announced that Colorado's most abundant prairie dog species has cleared its first hurdle in reaching for the threatened or endangered designation that could protect the species from farmers, developers and sportsmen.
That's just the first step, though, Fish & Wildlife officials cautioned.
They approved a process that will thoroughly review the arguments for and against the designation.
Earlier this year, the environmental group WildEarth Guardians filed a complaint against Fish & Wildlife for failing to list the species as endangered or threatened, despite what the group says are valid reasons to do so.
WildEarth Guardians provided biological information, and asserted that several factors endanger the habitat of the black-tailed prairie dog, including:
* converting habitat to cropland
* urbanization
* oil, gas and mineral development
* plague
* recreational shooting
* livestock grazing.
Fish & Wildlife had agreed to consider the petition by the end of November. The decision was announced today.
Prairie dog-niks say the animals were here first, are no threat to humans and are a reminder of how the plains used to be, before farms, houses and strip malls.
Their allies include some people who don't like more development in general.
Critics of prairie dogs say they are cuter versions of rats, nothing but vermin that can spread plague, make holes in which livestock can break ankles, and hold up needed urban development.
Black-tailed prairie dogs are found east of the continental divide in Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska.
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December 2, 2008
2:54 p.m.
Suggest removal
timpatico writes:
Holy crap what a bunch of losers. Take the Prairie dogs by my house and put them in your backyard, stinkin hippies.
December 2, 2008
3 p.m.
Suggest removal
Scott writes:
timpatico,
I believe that the phrase that you used, "stinkin hippies", is redundant ;-)
I guess that we had better exterminate the prairie rats before the eco-terrorists get them "protected".
Scott
December 2, 2008
3:01 p.m.
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timpatico writes:
Scott,
I stand corrected, nice job sir.
December 2, 2008
3:13 p.m.
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CaptainObvious writes:
With a little bit more work, their status can be changed to "extinct."
December 2, 2008
3:15 p.m.
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ou8one2 writes:
More liberal judicial activism from the bench. They are the size of a rat and spread out over ten states and they are endangered? Animal rights, the new way to take peoples land and rights away without compensation or representation.
December 2, 2008
3:21 p.m.
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dakar writes:
These things are in over a dozen states. They are hardly endangered but they do pose a threat to other animals and livestock. Imagine if you had some land and you wanted to build something on it but prairie dogs were there and prevented you from utilizing your land. Let them setup a prairie dog reserve somewhere but not make a pest endangered when it isn't.
December 2, 2008
3:21 p.m.
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roger44 writes:
This story has some facts mixed up. I think they mean the black footed ferret, which lives in prairie dog towns. The Prairie dog is not even close to being endangered.
December 2, 2008
3:21 p.m.
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cassidy22 writes:
endangered? I can understand that their habitat is clearly encroached upon, but they do their fair share of encroaching, too.
I would hate to see them go extinct, as I hate to see any critter go extinct, but seriously. I don't think these critters are on the brink. They seem numerous to me (thankful they haven't crossed the stream to get into my pasture!)
December 2, 2008
3:22 p.m.
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elkman writes:
Endangered my arse. Go out and drive around good old Denver, then tell me that they are endangered. Someone get a life out there!
December 2, 2008
3:22 p.m.
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The_Punnisher writes:
The PRB next step: ( People's Republic of Boulder )
Get the prairie rats voting rights and citizenship in their charming city...[/sarcasm]
That plutonium spill is really starting to take effect...
December 2, 2008
3:27 p.m.
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mswalley writes:
all of the comments are disgusting, every time i read comments on this site, only the dumb @ss red necks comment
December 2, 2008
3:31 p.m.
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saler writes:
Good grief. Two million critters over 11 western states and you say they are endangered? 2,000,000!!
December 2, 2008
3:41 p.m.
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dawnmarie01 writes:
I think I'd rather be a 'stinkin hippie' than a dumb-a$$ gun-totin' redneck like all y'all.
December 2, 2008
3:43 p.m.
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elkman writes:
At least we have a head on our redneck.
December 2, 2008
3:46 p.m.
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temurlan writes:
The Fish and Wildlife say "The black-footed ferret is a federally listed endangered species that depends upon prairie dogs as a source of food and uses its burrows for shelter. Any actions that kill prairie dogs or alter their habitat could prove detrimental to black-footed ferrets occupying the affected prairie dog towns. The black-footed ferret, swift fox , mountain plover, ferruginous hawk, burrowing owl , and number other species are dependent upon prairie dogs to varying degrees."
What the heck is a mountain plover? Anyway it does show how intertwined nature is.
Having said that, it does sound like the dog-nics may be abusing the ES act to further their "hate humans" agenda.
December 2, 2008
3:47 p.m.
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LockNLoad writes:
In Boulder, both the Prairie Dog and the Hippies are protected.
December 2, 2008
3:49 p.m.
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seeker writes:
It's the "black tailed prairie dog" this article is referring to. There is no black footed prairie dog. The RMN made an error.
December 2, 2008
3:52 p.m.
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gonzotolkien writes:
Just because you see a prairie dog by driving around Denver, doesn't prove they're not endangered. You can go to Komodo and only see the dragons. That doesn't mean they're abundant. Use your brain. Prairie dogs are found in 12 states yet nowhere else in the world, and they can easily be trapped then moved in order to develop land, unlike a lot of other endangered animals that are dependent on their habitat like ground owls.
December 2, 2008
3:58 p.m.
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Willy writes:
Remember a few years back when the pope came to Cherry Creek. They used a big vacuum to s u c k the critters out of the ground and relocate them. I think I will invest in one of those vacuums. (Silly RMN)
December 2, 2008
3:59 p.m.
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scootertrash writes:
The only thing they are good for, is sighting in my .223!
December 2, 2008
3:59 p.m.
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elkman writes:
gonzotolkien
Maybe you should get out more often. Maybe out of the city. Maybe to eastern Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, North Dakota, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. Maybe just out to the Federal Center. Conservatively, the population must be in the millions. And thats no joke. And where would you move them to? Your back yard?
December 2, 2008
4 p.m.
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RainbowWarrior writes:
I guess most of you don't understand much about how the natural world works. Consider the food chain concept as a start, who eats prairie dogs? Red Tailed Hawks, Bull Snakes, and Ferrets as just a start. So what you ignorant fools can't seem to deal with very well is that all life on this planet is connected and requires our consideration of other life forms to make the whole thing work as Great Spirit intended, not a bunch of human idiots with dollar signs on their minds or nothing better to do except kill things for fun!
December 2, 2008
4:04 p.m.
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temurlan writes:
There's that "kill things for fun" crack again. All you hunters want to set that straight again or should we refer rainbow to the deer story comments.
December 2, 2008
4:05 p.m.
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Squatch writes:
I second that Scootertrash.
December 2, 2008
4:06 p.m.
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Arbo_J_Doughty writes:
Ladies and gentleman,
A little education. Black-tails, like their cousins White-tailed, Gunnison's, and Utah prairie dogs, have been reduced to about one percent of their original range. They are considered by ecologists as "keystone" species...that is, without them black-footed ferrets (listed as endangered by the Feds. due to declines of the prairie dog, its principal prey species), plovers (a bird that uses prairie dog burrows for nesting), burrowing owls (also use prairie dog burrows), hawks, rabbits, and a host of other species are integrally tied to prairie dog habitat across the west. This doesn't have anything to do with "stinking hippies" in Boulder, but with scientists who have conducted research for many years. What you see in your backyard and around Denver may be some active colonies, but you don't see ferrets, and you won't because they can't survive with so much urbanization. I suggest you read the reason the species is being considered for listing:
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pd...
December 2, 2008
4:15 p.m.
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Squatch writes:
but with a .22-250.
December 2, 2008
4:18 p.m.
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scootertrash writes:
Squatch,
A .223 with a 30 round clip is the best.
December 2, 2008
4:21 p.m.
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Scott writes:
temurlan,
It's a waste of time. Komrade RainbowWarrior has its mind set that those of us who hunt are nothing more than murderers of our fellow mammalians.
Scott
December 2, 2008
4:23 p.m.
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elkman writes:
Don't forget the scope.
December 2, 2008
4:26 p.m.
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freespeech34 writes:
How about a pair of prairie rats for every zoo. Then put a bounty on the rest of them to accelerate their extinction. The money for the bounty could come from the bailout of the rich, and be given to the poor people who will hunt down the vermin!
December 2, 2008
4:27 p.m.
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oceanview78382 writes:
Scootertrash as well as the other trash on here are really tough bragging about what they would do with their guns.
Why don't these hunters shoot at each other and take the challenge of something that can fire back! They talk tough about their guns on here - why not go see who is the toughest among themselves?
Its not the prairie dogs that are over-populated but the redneck population which should be culled.
December 2, 2008
4:31 p.m.
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elkman writes:
oceanview78382
Go back to your oceanview. Probably in California, I'm guessing. Rednecks are not trash. Different than some, but not trash. Let me guess, you live in BOULDER? And, you are un-educated?
December 2, 2008
4:31 p.m.
Suggest removal
The_Punnisher writes:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Hipp...
It looks like the RMN has a hippie infestation...
The people who just might have a bit of land to manage ( I have 40 acres, our family, 700 acres ) might also have a bit better idea of how to manage the wildlife on that land. Boulder already has a problem with a different kind of wildlife, what makes them think they can manage this kind of wildlife??
My 1/2 acre of Colorado land also sees more wildlife in one year than most of the city slickers see in their lifetime. Maybe I just do a better job at ( NOT ) micro-managing my eco-systems...
December 2, 2008
4:36 p.m.
Suggest removal
MGD writes:
Hunters are people who eat what they shoot. These guys are target shooters who prefer live targets.
Oceanview, will you be the one to cull the redneck population?
December 2, 2008
4:47 p.m.
Suggest removal
scootertrash writes:
Oceanview,
Just because you are to much of a pu&$y to shoot a gun, don't condemn the rest of us, stay in your comfy little home and pout.
December 2, 2008
4:50 p.m.
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watcher1 writes:
I love it whenever there is a prairie dog story. It just drives the rednecks wild! Git yer panties out of their wads fellers, put yer guns down & have another Bud and chill. Its only a little prairie dog! :)
December 2, 2008
4:53 p.m.
Suggest removal
Scott writes:
oceanview wimpers, "Why don't these hunters shoot at each other and take the challenge of something that can fire back! They talk tough about their guns on here - why not go see who is the toughest among themselves?"
Uh oceanview, they're call mercenaries. Prairie Rats are called TARGET PRACTICE!
Scott
December 2, 2008
4:55 p.m.
Suggest removal
Grim_Reefer writes:
Prairie dogs spread like crazy...they're unstoppable little rodents!! Growing up by my house in Jeffco Open space there was huge colony that was wiped out by plague or something...8 years later, they came back with a vengence...my dad had a 7 acre grazing pasture for cows just littered with prairie dog burrows and we unleashed an unprecidented war to drive those bastards out, (smoke, poison, gas, pistols) and despite everything we threw at them, they came back!
endangered my a$$, they breed like crazy!!
Has anyone notice that the coyote population is large and larger...it's not like they're suffering from lack of prairie dog...
nope, sorry, thumbs down on those rodents!
December 2, 2008
5:03 p.m.
Suggest removal
evlgreg writes:
Let's see... If they are on 2 million acres in Colorado and we only assume 1 pair per acre, that's 4 million prarie dogs in our state. I don't condone killing them all, nor have I ever hunted them for sport (although I might like to try it once before they become "endangered"). I do think the prarie dog lobby which has been around for a while has a secondary agenda. If they are endangered, there will likely be no way to relocate them if you want to build new housing or new factories. Even possibly a solar farm or wind farm would meet resistance if there was a prarie dog town on it. the argument would be the birds would get hit by the windmils when they were trying to grab a prarie dog. Placing them on the endangered species list would be a feel good measure that would impact the ability of the state to grow at a moderate rate, it would increase land cost (land without the dogs) without increasing the number of available jobs or houses. Should we care about eliminating a species that provides food for other species?... yes. Are they in any danger of actually being eliminated?.. not likely.
December 2, 2008
5:06 p.m.
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LatkaGravitz writes:
Okay, here's an example of what we should do with the prarrie dogs:
http://www.dogbegone.com/humor.html
December 2, 2008
5:13 p.m.
Suggest removal
Ender writes:
When the "Peta" people start letting mice and rats run around their house without poising or trapping them, then is will I will let the prairie rats run around without the possibility of death. Come trap them and move the plague to your back yard.
December 2, 2008
5:23 p.m.
Suggest removal
Arbo_J_Doughty writes:
Evigreg writes: " Are they in any danger of actually being eliminated?.. not likely"
I'm wondering where the evidence is, and if you have some concrete evidence of this, I encourage you provide your comments. However, heed the text of today's Federal Register regarding the US Fish and Wildlife Service's consideration of the listing:
"To ensure that the status review is complete and based on the best available scientific and commercialinformation, we are solicitinginformation concerning the status of the black-tailed prairie dog. We request information from the public, other
concerned governmental agencies, Tribes, the scientific community, industry, or any other interested parties concerning the status of the black-tailed prairie dog. We are seeking information regarding the species’ historical and current status and distribution, its biology and ecology, ongoing conservation measures for the species and its habitat, and threats to the
species or its habitat.
Please note that comments merely stating support or opposition to the action under consideration without providing supporting information, although noted, will not be considered
in making a determination, as section 4(b)(1)(A) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1533(b)(1)(A)) directs that determinations as to whether any species is a threatened or endangered species must be made ‘‘solely on the basis of the best scientific andcommercial data available.’’
At the conclusion of the status review, we will issue a 12-month finding on the petition, as provided in section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1533(b)(3)(B)). You may submit your information
concerning this 90-day finding by one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section. We will not consider submissions sent by e-mail or fax or to an address not listed in the ADDRESSES
section. If you submit information via http://www.regulations.gov, your entire submission—including any personal identifying information—will be postedon the Web site. If your submission is
made via a hardcopy that includes personal identifying information, you may request at the top of your document
that we withhold this information from public review. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. We will post all hardcopy submissions on http://www.regulations.gov."
December 2, 2008
5:41 p.m.
Suggest removal
seeker writes:
It's amazing to me that after all the signs we have we still don't see the balance of the creatures of earth to nature. This animal is part of a delicate eco system. It feeds other creatures. Its burrows are nests for other creatures. When you eliminate it, the others starve or perish. Once these animals are gone, they do not return. They are here for a purpose. It is not for us to decide their time is up. We are stewards of the planet and we are doing a lousy job, my friends. Why would you kill, just for the sake of killing? To shoot a creature of God just to kill him is utter cruelty. What purpose does it serve? There is a cost when you tip the balance of nature.
To hunt for food is one thing but to kill for fun? We seem to be desensitized to killing. To kill for food you thank the creature that gives its life for you to live, but you don’t take the life for the fun of it. You waste the bounty of the earth. You tip the scales. When there are not enough prairie dogs the coyotes come looking for food in your neighborhood. We are infringing closer and closer in their lands. We see bears regularly in our cities looking for food. You can’t take what is theirs and there be no consequence. So now we have to trap or kill the bear and coyote. We almost killed off the buffalo, the wolves. We want to kill the wolves again. Sure, it’s funny. No respect for life. Not animal life. Not human life. Life has so little value to us now? Even the life of a little prairie dog is worth nothing I guess. Maybe I’ve gotten sentimental. Some of you use the term “stinkin hippie”. How about human being? Remember being a human being? Caring about things other than ourselves? Something beyond the selfish things that drive us? Like caring about a little creature that actually matters in the grand scheme of things? They have quite a society really. They are monogamous, there is no incest in their communities and they stand lookout for each other. They have language too. They have a sound for a human…..and a different sound for a human with a gun……too bad they’re not faster than a speeding bullet. They’re very interesting little guys. There’s a Dog Town here in Colorado that scientists have been studying for years. They’re not really just stupid rats. They actually have better morals and manners than a lot of people I know.....and they're more articulate.
December 2, 2008
5:48 p.m.
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Arbo_J_Doughty writes:
Seeker... while much of what you say is true about social structure is true... to say incest doesn't occur is not true... it happens in all animal species. Also, prairie dogs notoriously commit infanticide, where males raid other burrows killing the young of other males... much like lions and tigers due to their male rivals... it's a jungle out there, but animal behavior is what it is... nevertheless, true, there are lessons to be learned from the behaviors of others, human and non-human alike. That's what make the wildlife science and psychology so fascinating, eh?
December 2, 2008
5:49 p.m.
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wow writes:
I wrote this some time back, in response to another poster on a similar thread. Hope you enjoy it.
(To the tune of "Doggie in the Window"...with apologies...)
How sweet is that Doggie in the pasture?
The one with the bubonic plague…
How I love that Doggie in the pasture,
Tho his hole broke my horsey’s front leg!
The sweet little Doggie in the pasture
Tastes good with a bottle of gin.
To waste that good Doggie in the pasture
Could surely be seen as a sin.
Jesus loves those Doggies in the pasture
But hippies love those doggies too.
Send Jesus the Doggies in the pasture.
The hippies can go to the Zoo.
December 2, 2008
6:06 p.m.
Suggest removal
Ender writes:
Sorry Seeker, unless you are willing to eliminate 99% of human kind, (are you volunteering?) the "balance of creatures" is forever changed. Let us stewards of the lands keep your belly full and a cost that you don't whine about.
December 2, 2008
6:18 p.m.
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Logical writes:
Seeker, while your prose and compassion are commendable, the reality is that the prairie dog won't become extinct.
Out here on the eastern plains, ranchers have been trying to eradicate the dog for decades. Their holes do break the legs of livestock, and the rodents do carry the plague. However, despite all the efforts, the dogs are plentiful.
I enjoy watching the burrowing owls that live in the dog colonies, and also enjoy watching the coyotes. However, I don't have a financial stake in individual colonies, but those that do claim financial loss to the rodents.
When landowners can't build a barn, or farm, or drill for gas on their property because of the presence of the plentiful rodent, you are then encroaching on the right of a landowner to use his land in a productive manner. Will you pay him for lost income or added expense? Didn't think so.
The efforts to list the prairie dog is simply the result of the rodent being cute, not actual endangerment. Yes, there are fewer now than 100 years ago, but that doesn't mean they are becoming extinct. It is just a decline due to development of much of their old range. There is still plenty of open range for them, and where the open range is, there is no way there will be development to exterminate them. The prairies will never have wall-to-wall houses, as this is where agriculture must exist if we are to have ample food. And, urbanites don't want to live way out here, as it is too long of a commute (2 or more hours, each way) to get to the majority of jobs.
Don't cry for the prairie dog; they are the mammalian equivalent of the cockroach. They will be here long after humans destroy each other.
December 2, 2008
6:21 p.m.
Suggest removal
seeker writes:
Ender
What does that even mean? I'm talking about the balance of lesser mammals that live off each other. The balance of prairie dogs and eagles, hawks, ferrets, coyotes and the owls and creatures that then nest in the burrows. Not wiping out humanity.
Humans are tipping their balance. What we do to each other is something quite different. We have brains and can choose to do one thing or another. It is the creatures we have dominion over that are in peril. It's just common sense. Not crazy give it all over to the animals talk. Just common sense. If you kill off all the prairie dogs other things will die. Pretty simple. Not rocket science. Its ultimately what kills off civilizations too. When you over plant and strip the land, crops no longer grow and people die. Balance in nature. One thing depends on the other. Applies to all things in nature. All things on earth.
December 2, 2008
6:41 p.m.
Suggest removal
Ender writes:
Seeker,
You say that you do not know what I mean and then you agree with me "Humans are tipping their balance". Get real.
Your food doesn't grow on the grocery store selves. As a fifth generation steward of the land I probably do more in a day, to keep the eco system in balance, than you will ever do.
December 2, 2008
6:46 p.m.
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somebunnyluvsme writes:
OK seeker, very well written, but extremely ill informed. I don't blame you. You are neither stupid or uncaring. Unfortunately, you are however ignorant due to the fact that your sources of information have an agenda that has little if anything to do with the truth, or any form of factual data regarding prairie dogs. I have killed over 400 just this past year. The year before my total was just under that of this year. A bit expensive, and that was just an effort to keep the little rats out of my immediate yard.I know from 1st. hand experience that next year, there will be just as many as the year before.that is because they are very prolific little creatures. I have nothing against them, heck their as quite as a bugs ear. However, they are also quite destructive, and need to be kept in check. Given the chance, they will come right in the house, and dig a hole in your living room rug. I have never killed anything for fun, or sport. I am however an accomplished marksman, and can shoot a prairie dog in the head, which dispatches them quite humanely at ranges up to 400 yards. That is just about the distance needed to keep them from burrowing right next to the house; and the coyotes, eagles, hawks, and crows, get a good free meal out of the deal. While I am sure that most of you who are defending these little critters think you are saving the earth in some way; please remember, those of us lucky enough to have a few thousand of them as immediate neighbors, are a bit more well acquainted with their habits, and capabilities in regards to their ability to survive, and in fact flourish. Hate to say it, but you are all being led around by the nose; by a bunch of losers that think we should all live in a tepee, and ride a mule to work.Your time would be better spent burning down a ski lodge somewhere! Heck, you cant get rednecks to do that!!!
December 2, 2008
6:50 p.m.
Suggest removal
Ender writes:
somebunnyluvsme
Well said.
December 2, 2008
7:06 p.m.
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The_Punnisher writes:
Ender gets it right on the money. That is why we own some of the most sought after land for deer hunting in WI. You have to maintain a balance for ALL the creatures. The last time I looked, that includes the one called Homo Sapiens too.
The obvious conclusion to eliminating YOUR effect on this eco-system on the planet is to remove yourself. AKA DESTROYING yourself. ( the real funny thing is that this ball may be doing that by Global Warming ( NOT MAN MADE, THE REGULAR CYCLE ).
Some of us just try to keep things balanced in a RATIONAL manner. Most of the eco-freaks ( some IGNORANT, some STUPID ) just parrot what they THINK they know. Then they just throw up their hands and say " sorry " when they screw up..( like a certain president has done )
Have YOU made sure that you have 7 acres of woodlot to support your oxygen habit? I have....
That calculation was done over 20 years ago.. Others apply too.
So BALANCE is the key and you have to add the species called Homo Sapiens to the equation...
December 2, 2008
7:08 p.m.
Suggest removal
seeker writes:
Logical
I know a thing or two about prairie dogs and farming/ranching having done so in my younger life on the eastern plains of Colorado and in my family's farming in Kansas. They are on the imperiled list and have dropped in population 95% over the last 150 years. The Indian tribes on the Rosebud Reservation in S. Dakota and the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana are working to protect them and the wildlife associated with them to keep them from going extinct. The idea is not to let them takeover the planet but to sustain them or relocate them where they can survive. This may seem ridiculous to you and others but it is of importance to the creatures than depend on them in nature. Everything depends on something else in nature.
Killing the buffalo almost to extinction almost destroyed the Native American people. It was of great importance to them. It represented their life’s food, clothing and weapons….nothing was wasted and the white men shot and left their carcasses to rot on the earth. Human beings can make very bad decisions regarding what’s good for their country.
And despite stories to the contrary I never lost a cow, a horse or any critter to a prairie dog hole. Lucky? Maybe. But like the Native Americans, farmers and ranchers once upon a time awhile back, took their cues from their Indian neighbors and learned to live in union with God’s creatures. No poison or traps. No killing or barbed wire. But those days are gone I suppose. We just need to be ever mindful of what scale we’re tipping and know that if we tip it too far, we many not be able to right it again. Ask the Easter Islanders. Oh wait. You can’t ask them…..they cut the trees to make runners to move the Moai they carved and the trees didn’t grow back fast enough and the rains came and eroded the soil so nothing they planted could take hold to grow so there was no food and no trees meant no birds and no birds meant no birds to eat and no eggs to eat and they all died. Logical enough for you?
December 2, 2008
7:27 p.m.
Suggest removal
somebunnyluvsme writes:
Yes seeker, Logical, just not germane to the argument. You can not shoot or poison enough of these little guys to make them extinct. I agree with you whole heartedly that we need to make good sound decisions in regard to our stewardship of the earth. We need to work to find cleaner and more sustainable souses of energy to meet our needs. We need to be honest brokers of the truth though, and as much as we would like to give the likes of PETA, and ELF, and Friends of the Earth the benefit of some kind of doubt, I don't see how it is possible, considering their total lack of respect for truth, or the rights of others that they share the planet with. Hope that all the furry little beings can somehow find a way to get by with us for neighbors. So far there is enough uninhabited land out their, that the implementation of sustainable colonies can most likely be placed. I doubt it is actually necessary, but if that is what blows peoples skirts up, let them have at it. If you need any prairie dogs for a colony, just let me know. Come spring time I will have a whole new crop for ya!
December 2, 2008
7:39 p.m.
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roger44 writes:
look at the website for a device called a rodenator, it pipes 98% oxygen, 2% propane down a hole, give it a minute or so, and then push a button and it ignites the gas. we did about 30 acres and they are gone....:)
December 2, 2008
7:40 p.m.
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ManginoTorreta writes:
"Prairie dog-niks say the animals were here first, are no threat to humans and are a reminder of how the plains used to be, before farms, houses and strip malls."
Dry, dusty, and not fit for human habitation?
December 2, 2008
7:46 p.m.
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Logical writes:
Seeker, you over-reacted. You also bring in the bison (not buffalo), which is an apples-and-oranges comparison. Bison cannot reproduce as prolifically as prairie dogs. And, they have much greater environmental needs than the prairie dog.
I understand how all of nature is intertwined. My point is that without human sprawl, prairie dogs do just fine, in spite of people's efforts to eradicate them. As long as there are pastures and grasslands, there will be prairie dogs, and all that rely on them.
But, while highlighting the place of the prairie dog in the ecosystem, don't forget that rabbits share most of the same niche. Burrowing owls don't rely on rabbits, but other than that, most prairie dog predators also rely on rabbits. So, even if prairie dogs are eliminated from an area, most predators won't be harmed. I would imagine that only the burrowing owls would truly be harmed, as they would be hard-pressed to find similar living quarters.
December 2, 2008
8:01 p.m.
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ManginoTorreta writes:
"But like the Native Americans, farmers and ranchers once upon a time awhile back, took their cues from their Indian neighbors and learned to live in union with God’s creatures."
Hogwash. Firstly, Native Americans only "lived in union" with god's creatures because they didn't have the requisite technology to exploit their resources. Once horses and guns became available, the balance was already beginning to tip before whites ever were a significant presence around here. Not to mention the "buffalo jumps" that have been found all over North America.
Farmers and ranchers never harbored such romantic notions either, and your assertion that they "learned to live in union" with nature isn't supported by the facts. Farmers in the east clear-cut entire forests to establish their farms, and largely lived an intense struggle just to survive from year to year. Ranchers hunted wolves nearly to extinction for the practical purpose of keeping their livestock safe, and the largest grizzly populations are now in Canada and Alaska, because they were hunted out too--again, for the practical purpose of safety. And many of those farmers and ranchers despised Native Americans, and would have cut their arm off rather than "take cues" from them, especially when they were fighting each other over land.
Please drop these romantic ideas about humans living in harmony with nature being the most ideal form of living. You know who lives in harmony with nature? Hunter-gatherers that don't know from one day to the next if they are going to have enough to eat, and tend to die early from parasites, infections, and illnesses.
December 2, 2008
8:09 p.m.
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seeker writes:
somebunnyluvsme
The only point I'm making is it's just not the prairie dogs. They're just the subject of the moment. It's really about the bigger picture. I'm not a Peta person by any means. Just a citizen of the planet. Don't live in Boulder. I live in Aurora. In my life I've seen how one thing affects and effects another. Getting old I guess. Starting to see things in a different way. The prairie dog is connected to the eagle, the hawk and the coyote and so on. When they go, so go the others. We seem to make a joke of things that matter lately. It makes the world seem insignificant. It worries me. The less we care the more things go wrong. All one has to do is look around and see the mess we’re in and know we make the wrong choices so often. I have seen it in my life time and I want to let people know that I didn’t get when I was young. But I can tell you that so many things have changed that have not been for the best. We almost killed off the bald eagle. In my life time. How could that happen? When we discovered it people made fun of it. Big joke. Like the polar bears now. I’m no tree hugger but like I said, I’ve seen things I never thought I would see in my life. I know, it’s just a prairie dog. But it means something in the grand scheme of things. And the trees meant something to the Easter Islanders. If you don’t see the connection then you are not going to be any help to the future. Am I a silly old fool? You may think so. But this old fool has grandkids and I so want them so be able to look up in the sky and see a bald eagle. I want them to see a buffalo. Not just in the zoo. And as stupid as you and others may think it is, I really want them to be able to see a real “dog town” on the plains of Colorado. I want your grandkids to see it all too. I’m not an idiot. I’m not trying to start some ridiculous argument. Just trying to make a case for a remarkable little critter. Think about it…..mates for life, no incest, has language. They have a sound for a human and a different sound for a human with a gun. You have to admit that’s pretty cool. And they stand guard and warn each other when predators come around. I’m not saying we should all go out and bring them home but they have a respectable society for rodents. Interesting. Part of the balance of nature.
December 2, 2008
8:22 p.m.
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seeker writes:
ManginoTorreta
It must be awful to be you. My life and memories are not for you to trash and disrespect. My family followed many traditions in farming that connected to our Native American ancestors and our European ones too. We honored the sacrafice of the animals who fed us and at harvest celebrated the crops with thanks for the food. Harmony with the land and animals is part of the culture of many people not just the Indians. American literature is full of the stories of such people. If this is beyond your imagination or understanding I feel sorry for you. Clearly your world is dull and depressing.
December 2, 2008
8:49 p.m.
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seeker writes:
Logical
I don’t think I’m over reacting, logical. The American buffalo, (referred to as bison by scientists and not so in its day by those of the time) was a pretty big deal to the Native Americans. Obviously it can’t reproduce as fast as prairie dogs but the point is it was important to someone’s survival. Not yours maybe but important none the less. And since it’s my moment for the prairie dogs and I’m just trying to make a little statement for balance I felt the comparison was justified and I’m sticking to it. One thing affects the other. That’s all. And no matter what, rabbits aren’t prairie dogs. They just aren’t and they don’t have the same societal structure. Oh yes, they are cute little bunnies. My son had them as pets. Dumb as can be but very furry and sweet. But they’re not the same. Is a robin the same as a hawk? No. Not the same. So really I’m not trying to get everyone to adopt them just making a case that we shouldn’t kill them all off. You say it will never happen and yet in my life time I have seen things come to the brink of extinction and I just don’t want it to happen to any other animals. That’s all. Even if it’s the much maligned black tailed prairie dog.
December 2, 2008
8:58 p.m.
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Heidi writes:
seeker,
Perhaps more people should watch the Bee Movie.
December 2, 2008
9:10 p.m.
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seeker writes:
Heidi
I just googled it and I guess I better scoop up the grandkids and see it myself! Thanks!
December 2, 2008
9:15 p.m.
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Heidi writes:
seeker,
I saw it for the first time about a week ago. It's cute and funny, in addition to delivering a good message about the balance of nature.
December 2, 2008
9:27 p.m.
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SandyDunes writes:
I will admit that I use to kill prairie dogs for fun, but then I grew up and became a man.
December 2, 2008
9:28 p.m.
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InEssence writes:
Hey People,
The early Americans killed off the bison to get rid of the Indians. To that effect, they passed laws which you can read today. It wasn't an accident, oversight, or mistake.
As for prairie dogs, we have thousands upon thousands in the urban area of Denver. They might not have a black tip on their tail. Is that important?
December 2, 2008
9:29 p.m.
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seeker writes:
I'll rent it this weekend, Heidi. Give us something fun to do together. They've probably seen it. It still surprises me that this subject brings out such anger in people. Just asking for a little balance. Some people want to exterminate everything they don't understand. Thanks for the movie idea!
December 2, 2008
9:37 p.m.
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Heidi writes:
seeker,
I think some people aren't happy unless they have something to complain or argue about. But that's not true happiness. True happiness partly comes from accepting things which you cannot control (not referring to the prairie dog issue!).
Have fun with the kiddos this weekend!
December 2, 2008
9:43 p.m.
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seeker writes:
InEssence
The reason given for the slaughter was for the settlement of the new country. Clearing the land so to speak. But it was all too well known that the true reason was the extermination of the Native people. I did not want to start a genocide debate to go along with an already unpopular prairie dog debate. My logic was one thing depends on the other to survive. It was a tragic time in America for the Indians. One of many attempts to erase them from their land.
There are 5 species of prairie dogs. The black tailed dogs are the ones imperiled. Is one dog the same as the next? I don't know. I'm no expert. Just hate to see anything killed to extinction. What is destroyed is not easily resurrected.
December 2, 2008
10:09 p.m.
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roadstar writes:
Have you visited natural open space in Douglas County recently? Don't even think about riding your horse any faster than a walk because the open space is FULL of prairie dogs and their holes! The open space is ruined. Also, our neighboring property is full of prairie dogs, and the owner could care less as he rents it out. After trying many other things, we've resorted to putting black plastic sheeting on our fence that borders their property to help keep the prairie dogs out of our property. We're talking 2,000 feet of black plastic sheeting! Looks like crap, but the "dogs" don't like to not see each other, which the plastic prevents them from doing. Every couple of days we have to go out to that pasture and fill in a few prairie dog holes so our horses and donkeys don't break a leg. The land around here was void of prairie dogs when we moved here so don't say "they were here first" because they weren't. Their prolific breeding and the lack of enough predators has allowed them to take over open space, private pastures, and state parks. This is not right. Something needs to be done about them on a large scale!
December 2, 2008
10:17 p.m.
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ManginoTorreta writes:
"My life and memories are not for you to trash and disrespect."
This isn't about you, seeker--get off your high horse. You made the assertion that early farmers and ranchers "took cues from the Native Americans" and "lived in union with God's creatures." Your life and memories are just that--your own--and have no application whatsoever to what actually occurred in the past, and you did not mention them in the post I criticized. It's convenient that when confronted with actual historical fact, you fall back to anecdote and your own experiences rather than the documented record which directly contradicts your assertion. Stop projecting your memories on those in the past who never lived your life and wouldn't understand what you were talking about in regards to being "in harmony with nature." It wasn't about any of the naturalistic nonsense you are spouting, it was about daily survival, and that's it.
"American literature is full of the stories of such people. If this is beyond your imagination or understanding I feel sorry for you. "
Yes, and most of it was produced by people who never had to make a living in those conditions. Thoreau couldn't even live beyond two years in the backwoods. Although you wouldn't know it by his idealized version of "back to nature" that everyone romanticizes, Walden was meant to be nothing more than an experiment, not a serious study of how everyone should live, and his mother had to bring him food on the weekends so he wouldn't starve to death. Daniel Boone ended his life in a house, not a cabin in the woods. The diaries of the early settlers appreciate the beauty of where they are living--when they first get there, that is--until they have to start carving out an existence in the woods and they drop the pretensions. James Fenimore Cooper lived in Europe most of his career and died in Cooperstown, NY--clearly he knew that "living in harmony with nature" sounded good in print and was too difficult in practice to be taken seriously as a lifestyle. If you think this is "beyond my understanding," then you are clueless, because clearly I understand the recorded actions and geographical record of the past and human history far better than your dreamy imaginings have provided to you.
December 2, 2008
10:48 p.m.
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buffsavs writes:
I am not a member of PETA nor a vegitarian or hippie, but I don't understand how anyone can argue against putting an animal that has lost 98% of its original population on the endangered species list. Just because you see a lot around your house doesn't mean they aren't endangered. And shooting them for fun? Get a life, atleast most hunters eat what they kill. I have personally never seen a black-footed ferret in the wild because the prairie dog population has gotten too low and too close to human devolopment to sustain any in the wild. I hope that one day I do get to see one, and hopefully I can show my kids prairie dogs too. And burrowing owls, they're birds that live in the ground IN prairie dog holes, how cool is that!
December 2, 2008
10:56 p.m.
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bigjking69 writes:
If any of you apartment living, nature loving from watching a lot of discovery channel, but have never really touched nature lunatics want any prairie dogs you are more than welcome to pick them up and you can make them your pets. I will give you directions and everything. Had the pioneers called them prairie rats instead, less people would care about these varmints. I don't see anyone championing the rights of street rats?
December 3, 2008
5:01 a.m.
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seeker writes:
ManginoTorreta
The things I stated in my post were from my own personal life. Your criticism is rude. You are no one to tell me my experience is from some dreamy unrealistic time that could never have been. What is it with you anyway? I have a life’s history that doesn’t fit your concept or view of how it was. So what? People don’t all live the same lives. This isn’t an essay contest for you to judge. It’s my personal family experience and history of a relationship with the world we live in. It was a respect for the land and the animals that was passed from one generation to the next. Land that is still farmed by family members after five generations. I am proud of it and still feel bound to respect it and the wildlife that lives on it.
December 3, 2008
7:02 a.m.
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elkman writes:
seeker
Prairie dogs are considered rodents. Not wildlife. Look it up in the dicitionary. Rodents include mice, rats, and yes, prairie dogs. They carry the plague and every year, infect many people in the United States. So, you are proud of the "rodents" that live on your property?
December 3, 2008
7:38 a.m.
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Heidi writes:
elkman,
Even though prairie dogs are rodents, they are also considered wildlife.
There are many different species of wildlife that are threatened or endangered, therefore protected, which many people view as undesirable.
http://ecos.fws.gov/tess_public/Speci...
I'm not agreeing nor disagreeing with your view, just giving the facts.
December 3, 2008
8 a.m.
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ElGordo writes:
Heck when I moved to the "city" from the plains, I saw these huge, fat prairie dogs. They seemed to be pretty well off here than the ones I saw at home. And who here misses the dodo? Let the stinkin rats become extinct.
December 3, 2008
8:09 a.m.
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Marshdale writes:
Someone earlier said "I shoot one every chance I get." Gee thats nice, NOT! I have been a hunter my whole life and have never killed anything for the sake of killing it. That is a sociopaths mentality. As a gun lover and hunter, I was always taught to respect wildlife and use its resources appropriately, not simply waste them. As for the dangers to cattle they pose, it may be true that a few cattle do get injured by stepping in prairie dog dens. However, there is a cattle rancher in southern Colo. who leaves the prairie dogs in his pastures because they till the soil, which makes for much better grass for the cattle. He has some of the best grazing pastures in the state because of this. So they aren't just little rats. We need to find a way to bennefit from them instead of get rid of them.
December 3, 2008
8:11 a.m.
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elkman writes:
If anyone traps mice in their homes, they then are killing and threatening "wildlife". In all my years, I have never heard of prairie dogs considered as "wildlife". So, anyone killing mice and protecting prairie dogs are hypocrits.
December 3, 2008
8:14 a.m.
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elkman writes:
Heidi
Went to your site and saw nothing about "wildlife". The US Fish and Wildlife say nothing about "wildlife". They do, however, have a category called "species". But, "species" does not equal "wildlife".
December 3, 2008
8:16 a.m.
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toocool writes:
Wildearth Guardians? Could they be a Canasta groupie club?
December 3, 2008
8:20 a.m.
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Dell writes:
In 2006 there were 31 cases of plague in humans in the U.S., 2 fatal. None definitively attributed to prairie dogs, who usually die within 72 hours of becoming infected-often too quickly to be adequate hosts to the disease. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrh...
Prairie dog numbers in Denver have been more than halved in the past 10 years. (see animal control website)
Burrowing owls have disappeared in area, raptors populations have dropped and there are unprecedented number of coyote predations on pets.
There are no documented and substantiated cases of any livestock injured by prairie dog holes in CO-per cdow.
Just so you know...
December 3, 2008
8:28 a.m.
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Heidi writes:
elkman,
Wildlife are plants and animals that have not been domesticated. The link I provided included species of fish and wildlife. It was just to show how many "undesirable" species are protected.
December 3, 2008
8:31 a.m.
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Heidi writes:
To clarify my last statement, I was providing the link to show you that many species are protected, including some that may be viewed as undesirable.
December 3, 2008
8:34 a.m.
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lzrdlvr writes:
I like animals and I like the little prairie dogs but I also think they're a nuisance.
The thing that bothered me the most about this article was the phrase, "needed urban development." WHAT?!?
December 3, 2008
8:40 a.m.
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elkman writes:
Heidi
Thank you for your clarification. My point was and still is: We kill mice and rats because they are undesirable, but believe that prairie dogs are OK. Rodents are rodents. I don't see many people making a big deal about trapping mice and rats in their homes and garages. What is the difference between one rodent and another?
December 3, 2008
8:40 a.m.
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FlyfishDude52 writes:
The simple question is, "Is it us or them?" Humans don't easily coexist with any wildlife (perhaps for another post, replace wildlife with others) that poses ANY form of irritation to us. Humans are an integral part of the ecosystem that just happen to be superior as a predator to all other forms of life. As the world population increases we, obviously, encroach on areas previously inhabited by other species. I have to admit that relocating prairie dogs so that new subdivisions and malls can be built is absolutely ludicrous. If anyone tries to place those displaced prairie dogs anywhere near my home I would likely want to shoot the relocators.
wildearth guardians need to relocate their efforts to the third world countries. I believe their perspective of what is important would change radically...
December 3, 2008
8:41 a.m.
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eventempered writes:
LOL, save the common house mouse, free the cockroaches from their oppressive shackles, and start a fund for the dying Mosquitos.
December 3, 2008
8:44 a.m.
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lzrdlvr writes:
We are only "superior as a predator" if we are carrying a gun. If you encounter a mountain lion or tiger without a weapon, you are still an integral part of the ecosystem but no longer the "superior" predator. You are the snack.
December 3, 2008
8:51 a.m.
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FlyfishDude52 writes:
Man survived the stone ages without guns with far more vicious predators than exist today. Why do you suppose there are no more saber tooth tigers, etc? They weren't shot with guns. Get a grip, man, from his earliest provable history, is a superior predator.
I do wish, though, that we could rid ourselves of mosquitos. But then that would create an imbalance in the ecosytem and rid us of west nile, malaria, etc. Yeah, it's a bad idea...
December 3, 2008
8:53 a.m.
Suggest removal
eventempered writes:
Izrdlvr, good point that's why our brains make us the "superior as a preditor". Now if your stupid the ecosystem will take you out of the gene pool, works for me.
December 3, 2008
8:55 a.m.
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lzrdlvr writes:
So, let me get this straight...you believe if you and a mountain lion or a tiger encountered one another and he/she was hungry and had every intention of killing you that you would be the superior predator???
Other factors contributed to the extinction of the sabre-tooth tigers...
December 3, 2008
9:01 a.m.
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lzrdlvr writes:
I am just saying that without a weapon we are not always the superior predator. But as eventempered points out, it is our superior intellect that enables us to create weapons which then allow us to be the superior predator.
I believe the "experts" all agree that the end of the Ice Age is what caused the extinction of the wooly mammoth and the sabre-tooth tiger.
December 3, 2008
9:03 a.m.
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eventempered writes:
Yes Lzrdlvr, yes because my brain (the ability to reason) has prepared me with a weapon of somekind or a weapon on the spot, or I travel in a group. This is what makes us the Superior Preditor. Survival of the fittest, how do you think we got here.
December 3, 2008
9:07 a.m.
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elkman writes:
You guys need to stick to the topic. The original article is about prairies dogs. Now you are talking about Superior Preditors and sabre-tooth tigers and intellect. What next?
December 3, 2008
9:07 a.m.
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Heidi writes:
elkman,
I suppose you don't hear much about killing house mice because they aren't killed in high numbers as the prairie dogs are and aren't as publically visible. Some species of of rats and mice are protected.
The Utah and Mexican prairie dogs are currently listed under the Endangered Species Act as threatened and endangered respectively. If anyone wants to send comments regarding the status or distribution of the black-tailed prairie dog, the address can be found here:
http://www.fws.gov/news/NewsReleases/...
The Fish and Wildlife Service wants to evaluate all information before making it's decision.
December 3, 2008
9:08 a.m.
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eventempered writes:
Back to to the Prarie Dog, given the current economic conditions, is this really on the top of our needs list? I quess somebody in government is working hard to preserve their job.
December 3, 2008
9:11 a.m.
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Heidi writes:
Heavens to Murgatroid! I have no desire to kill Snagglepuss!
December 3, 2008
9:20 a.m.
Suggest removal
eventempered writes:
Heidi, I disagree, there are several house mice killed on regular basis that we just don't know about, nobody is sifting through the trash and what about those dying from poison. Your trying to rationalize a hypocritical point that some species are OK to kill on a regular basis but others are not based on food chain. I know, I know, house mice are not a politically viable cause.
I will know take a radical approach to extiction forth epupose of debate. Why is extinction so bad? Anybody miss a dinosaur? Do we hunt to extinction, no, but if an animal stands in the way of progress then nature is taking it's course.
December 3, 2008
9:23 a.m.
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GILPINMAN writes:
The mountain plover makes it's nest on flat ground with short grass NOT in a hole. The black footed ferret was extinct until a colony was found in south dakota in the late 80s. I say bring back the ferret they love to kill things like rodents. The black tailed prairie dog is a ground squirrel and that is a rodent. personaly I live next to about 400 of them and the whole collony is less than an acre. My 10-22 does a great job of keeping them off my property but I don't shoot them at the collony only because my neibor wont let me. I do admit they are cute but they can be a BIG problem. As long as they leave me alone I leave them alone.
December 3, 2008
9:23 a.m.
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eventempered writes:
Hey what about Ferrel bigs, they're everywhere. save the pigs!!!
December 3, 2008
9:25 a.m.
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elkman writes:
Heidi
I would be willing to bet that every year, more rats and mice are killed then prairie dogs. I probably trap 3-6 mice in my garage every year. Multiply even one mouse trapped per household in America per year and you far exceed the number of prairie dogs killed in many years. Rodents are rodents.
December 3, 2008
9:25 a.m.
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farmerjoe writes:
Praire dogs are a pest they destroy the land that they are one. Drive around Denver and look at the fields that they are in. There is no grass left in the pasture where they are at. If you have livestock in these pastures they leave no grass for them to graze. We had to move cattle off of grass because these praire dogs had destroyed the grass. These people that want to save them they are all fine with them now, but wait until the get in their back yard or they get into there son's or daughter's play ground or baseball field then they are not so fun to look at anymore. This is the biggest mistake that the state could do is make them endangered, it takes the power from the farmer or rancher to help control these pests and save the land. Most farmers and ranchers are conservationist they try to keep the land in the best shape and with these pest they cant. They destroy the cover crop and then the land starts to blow. If you disagree with me, like I said before go drive around Denver and look at the fields that they are in and then look at one that doesn't and you can see for yourself.
December 3, 2008
9:26 a.m.
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FlyfishDude52 writes:
Perhaps we can all agree that wildearth guardians need to focus on our reality, not some boulder bs pac group!
December 3, 2008
9:31 a.m.
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eventempered writes:
Ditto Flyfish! Unfortunately they have money and lawyers that doom us all, unless we have more money and better lawyers. This Politically correct BS is bringing us to some kind of revolution where the silent majority won't take it anymore.
December 3, 2008
9:43 a.m.
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Heidi writes:
elkman,
You may be right. I was just speculating. But I don't believe there is house mouse hunting like there is for prairie dogs! ;)
eventempered: "Your trying to rationalize a hypocritical point that some species are OK to kill on a regular basis but others are not based on food chain"
Where did I say it was okay to kill one species and not another? That's not the point I was trying to make at all. Personally, I can't kill anything myself or can't stand to watch someone kill an animal, but I don't have anything against the killing, as long as it is legal.
December 3, 2008
9:50 a.m.
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elkman writes:
Heidi
So you don't eat no meat?
December 3, 2008
9:53 a.m.
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RainbowWarrior writes:
When men stand in judgement of creation, they assume the role of a Deity. I see no one here that has even the basic qualifacations to proclaim some animals are better or more important than others. I can only hope that someday superior beings don't come to Earth and proclaim us to be vermin that must be eliminated... what comes around goes around.
We are all related. The Earth does not belong to us, we beong to the Earth.
As we continue to destroy and disrupt the natural systems of the planet for our preceived benefit, we are digging a hole deeper and deeper and soon none of us will be able to crawl out of, no matter how well we try to coexist with these systems on a personal level. It makes me wonder if even the meek will be able to inherit the Earth...
December 3, 2008
9:59 a.m.
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Heidi writes:
elkman,
Of course I eat meat. I just don't like to watch animals die, even though it may be for their own good or the good of others!
December 3, 2008
10:01 a.m.
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Heidi writes:
Did you get your elk yet this year? I take a couple of steaks or some jerky!
December 3, 2008
10:03 a.m.
Suggest removal
elkman writes:
RainbowWarrior
Are you for real? No one assumes the role of a Deity here. Sorry, but the earth does belong to us. Who else owns it? Aliens? I would agree that it is our job is to do our best to protect the earth. But I would argue that some rodents and animals do not need to be here. Extinction of some animals and rodents, etc. is inevitable. Dinosuars did not need mankind to make their extinction inevitable. Thousands of species of animals throughout history have become extinct. Most of them not a result of mankind.
December 3, 2008
10:09 a.m.
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elkman writes:
Heidi
Yes, as a mattter of fact, I did. Cut the meat up and packaged it myself. Grandfather taught me that. My family eats every bit of the meat. Low in fat. Have to put oil in the pan to cook it. Very good for your health. Had some burger, summer sausage, and breakfast sausage made from some of the elk meat.
I do not think many people like to watch an animal expire. However, if I eat meat, there is someone who has to kill the animal. It is either me or someone else.
December 3, 2008
10:15 a.m.
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Heidi writes:
elkman,
I grew up in Iowa and ate much corn-fed white tail deer, as well as pheasant. Did you have to mix pork or beef fat with the elk meat to make sausage?
December 3, 2008
10:23 a.m.
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elkman writes:
Heidi
Yes, the burger, and sausage had 5% fat added to it so it will stick together.
December 3, 2008
11:10 a.m.
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Ted_in_Vegas writes:
If the prairie dog is to be labeled endangered, so should the mosquito, fly, mice, dogs, cats and humans.
This so ridiculuous. No wonder the Watermelons (Green on the outside, Red in their core) are so disgusting to otherwise reasonable people.
December 3, 2008
11:12 a.m.
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blm69 writes:
I do admit that as the human population grows unfortunately prarie dogs will have to find other places to dig holes. However, I don't think that they should be shot for sport. I believe harvesting cattle for food is something that people do to survive and being half carnivorous we shouldn't feel guilty about it. I have a problem with the hunting for sport and the killing of animals for the drug-like thrill that it creates. To me, it is a sign of immaturity. Small children will by nature be inclinded to pull the legs off grasshoppers or the heads of ants. However, as people mature, we realize that killing other animals for no good reason is simply wrong and it is something we shouldn't do. Very few people hunt for the the meat. It's the for a cheap thrill and some time to drink a twelve pack. Surely a t-bone steak tastes better than nasty wild elk meat. For all the small penis, over compensating hunters, with your full body camo, it's time to grow up.
December 3, 2008
11:13 a.m.
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horsinaround writes:
I say we all pitch in for a prairie dog vacuum and come out by my house where there are probably thousands upon thousands of them living on state land; although not for long just on state land as they are RAPIDLY breeding and spreading. We vacuum them up and deliver them to Boulder. We can just let them loose in the Boulder City parks, the envirowhackos yards, all over town. Let them keep them from becoming endangered.
December 3, 2008
11:28 a.m.
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horsinaround writes:
Roadstar,
I hope you read this again. We have 35 acres with horses. Our neighbors have let prairie dogs on their property as well. They keep trying to get rid of them, but never succeed. We had one burrow on our property. When I mucked the barn, I took the whole muck cart of horse poop up to the prairie dog hole with a shovel. I shoved and shoved the horse poop down the hole and then I piled it up high above the ground. Then I ran over it several times with our atv to pack it down. That burrow was never used again. I will still occasionaly dump poop on top of that mound and run over it with the atv. Since then, the prairie dogs have moved their burrows in the other direction and not towards our land. If you don't have many coming over, that may help. It worked for us!
December 3, 2008
11:38 a.m.
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Ashley writes:
Rainbow's got a point, even if he/she phrases it in a more, um, odd way than I would. One planet, people. We all coexist together. What right do we have to decide which animals live and which ones go extinct? Don't give me that garbage about superior predators or farmland; we're part of the ecosystem too, and we do more damage than good when we act the way most of you seem to want. Do you act that way because you are truly that callous, or simply stupid? It's possible to balance human desires with those of the rest of the planet, but most of you need to pull your heads out of the prairie dog holes first.
And though I live in an apartment, I have a pair of horses and love to ride through those wide 'ol Eastern plains. Stick to the paths if you want to gallop. If you don't, you're taking your mount's life in your hands and I have no pity if your stupidity costs your horse its life.
December 3, 2008
11:53 a.m.
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GILPINMAN writes:
blm69 should I say ignorant or arrogant? Nasty wild elk meat? never tried it have you? lots of restraunts serve it try it sometime you just might like it. My wife had the same feeling about wild game untill I served it up for dinner several times and told her it was beef, she ranted and raved about how good it was for weeks before I told her what it was now she loves it.
December 3, 2008
11:56 a.m.
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McGowdog writes:
Good Dawg!
December 3, 2008
noon
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1redwingsfan writes:
What is wrong with you people!. Those animals were here long before you ever were. I'm not a bleeding heart but my God, whats next with you people, getting rid of Elk because they poop on your land or Mountain Lions because they eat your little dogs.? Sure, Pairie Dogs are like rats and over populate everywhere, but just like Elk, Mountain Lions, Wolfs and all the rest of the animals in Colorado they were all here first. You should learn to live with them and around them, not the other way around.I say lets kill all your little yippie dogs because I think they are a nusance. Now how stupid does that sound? Same thing
December 3, 2008
12:24 p.m.
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elkman writes:
blm69
"Very few people hunt for the the meat. It's the for a cheap thrill and some time to drink a twelve pack".
You are so out of touch with reality. Do you hunt? No is the obvious answer.
It might just surprise you that all most every hunter hunts for meat. You really should not be talking about something that you have not a clue about. Ever been to the woods to hunt? The overwhelming majority of hunters that I run into are out in the woods are decent, law abiding citizens, looking to take some meat home. Ever gone to a game-processing plant during hunting season? Probably not. You have to stand in line to get your meat processed. You need to grow a brain and grow up. Hunting has been around since cave-man lived here. Nothing wrong with it then, nothing wrong with it now. If you eat any kind of meat, you are a hypocrite! Difference between hunters and you, is you are a coward!
December 3, 2008
12:37 p.m.
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elkman writes:
blm69
And one other thing--69--is that your age or your IQ? Probably both.
December 3, 2008
12:42 p.m.
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Uno writes:
With all these hippies around fleas and lice will never be endangered.
December 3, 2008
12:52 p.m.
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farmerjoe writes:
The picture on here with that stupid dog coming out of it's hole shows the weeds that follow these stinkin animals. The biggest reason to get rid of them is they destroy the ground. I would love to have that truck that vacums them out of the their holes, then drive down I-25 and open the back up and dump them out, now that would be fun!!!
December 3, 2008
12:55 p.m.
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Ender writes:
Us or them. With almost 7 trillion people to feed(ihttp://www.census.gov/ipc/www/)in this world, can we let a rodent destroy food producing acres? Has anybody quality of life been diminished, by the extinction of the woolly mammoth, the saber tooth tiger, or even a man made extinction the dodo bird?
December 3, 2008
12:58 p.m.
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Heidi writes:
mxRider,
Weren't you afraid your little doggie would catch a disease from the prairie dogs?
December 3, 2008
1:08 p.m.
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elkman writes:
mxRider
No, cannot be BLM Management area, as it is a forgone conclusion that blm69 does not hunt. He has a hatred of hunters. I still think it is his IQ.
December 3, 2008
1:15 p.m.
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INC writes:
How Did the Whigs die out and how can we do that to republicans???
I Do realize the republicans are the whigs' children's party.
(spoiled brats they are)
they need to be put out of our misery.
December 3, 2008
1:20 p.m.
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Ender writes:
INC
What does this have to do with the topic? You are so out of touch with reality that you can't even post to the topic.
December 3, 2008
1:23 p.m.
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elkman writes:
Just another idiot that thinks politics has to be injected into every conversation. Poor devil.
December 3, 2008
1:36 p.m.
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gr8fun4me writes:
I agree with mswalley. So many people don't have a clue. I'm living out on the east coast now after living in Colorado for twenty years. You rarely see any wildlife. I noticed a lack of birds in the morning. Yet there are forests all around. As smart as man likes to think they are, man cannot create even the simplest form of life, an amoeba. It seems that people just like to kill anything that moves and come up with dumb reasons for doing so. The simple fact is that 7 billion people on the planet is too many. It's only a matter of time before all the wildlife disappears and history will ask what the hell happened. Were the people of that time era ignorant, stupid or both!
December 3, 2008
1:42 p.m.
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Ender writes:
sorry for the typo should be billion not trillion
December 3, 2008
1:53 p.m.
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Heidi writes:
mxrider,
Oh, your poor dog was protecting your horse from the prairie dog holes. My aunt's miniature horse and cat are the best of friends. I'm always afraid the cat is going to get stepped on.
December 3, 2008
1:56 p.m.
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elkman writes:
gr8fun4me
That is why state and federal agencies are managing populations of animals. If I were a bird, I sure would not want to live on the east coast. Your doom and gloom patter is unwarranted. All wildlife will not disappear, unless we have a nuclear holocust.
December 4, 2008
1 a.m.
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LoveConquersAll writes:
Plague? Our horses and cattle with broken legs? That expensive Vet bill? Our crops eaten' up? AWESOME!
Honey that sounds great! Be sure to tell the gardner we'll take about 10 of them..
December 4, 2008
8:36 a.m.
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RufusTFirefly writes:
Prarie Dogs. I have never understood the "love" some people have for these rodents.
December 5, 2008
9:55 p.m.
Suggest removal
wygent writes:
Please lord, save me from well meaning idiots. There is not now, nor was there ever a "balance of nature". In all animal populations that exist in a "natural" state, there is, instead, a series of imbalances that are corrected by starvation, disease, infanticide, suicide and a rapid increase in the populations of predator species which then results in a different imbalance. The notion that "all things are connected" in some sort of mystical fashion is childish drivel. A couple of years after the the rabbit population peaks (a regular seven or eleven year cycle depending on species) the bobcat population will boom due to improved nutrition in the adult females, but by that time, the rabbit population has crashed due to their having used up their food resources so many bobcat kittens will starve. This is your connectedness, it is brutal and ugly, but it is the way of the world. Black footed ferrets were on the decline long before white man came to the West. They are a species that has become too specialized and is unable to adapt to changing environmental conditions. Such species have, throughout history, removed themselves from the biosphere without so much as a whimper and the earth has continued to turn and new species have replaced them. The notion that extinction is always bad and that it can be prevented is naive and counter to well known biological principles. Listing prairie dogs as endangered has nothing to do with biology and everything to do with control and destruction of private land agriculture. It is a terrible idea that true conservationists will oppose at every juncture.