The Gillette News-Record reports:
Punxsutawney Phil might get all the national media attention today, but his Wyoming cousin, the black-footed prairie dog, has some Wyoming ranchers and lawmakers up in arms. Wyoming ranchers already are frustrated with the wolf and sage grouse issues. Now a recent proposal by the federal government to consider the black-tailed prairie dog as a candidate for the threatened or endangered species list has sparked rebellion at the state Legislature. A resolution to let the feds know Wyoming’s take on that proposal is being sponsored by Sen. Jim Anderson, R-Glenrock, and Rep. Richard Cannady, R-Glenrock. It will be up for a vote this month. “I brought the resolution at the request of a landowner in the Thunder Basin Grasslands area,” Anderson said in an e-mail Friday. “He contends that the listing of the prairie dogs would impose a severe economic hardship on ranchers and industry in the area. I agree.” Rep. Sue Wallis, R-Campbell County, said enough is enough. “Look to the incredible amount of money and time the state is forced to spend to protect ourselves from the same (proposals to list) in terms of the sage grouse and wolf - and now the prairie dog,” she said...
1 comment:
Perspective... What is that exactly? There are a number of ways to look at
this issue and it is a sad state of affairs when the public simply looks at
things so one sided without recognizing this is a very far reaching and
complex issue. I ask before you read that you step out of the box and think
about how many different ways there are to look at this. It isn't rocket
science.
First, what makes great soil? Plenty of aeration and fertilization.... Take
us back to when colonists headed out west and saw the prairie and guess what
they saw? Beautiful, fertile land, with rich soil for growing crops. These
crops are what made America stand out as an agricultural giant, pushing us
light years beyond foreign markets.
What made the soil in this area of the country so wonderful, you might ask?
Buffalo, prairie dogs, pronghorn, insects, reptiles, raptors, and the long
list of species that helped create and perpetuate a fertile and balanced
ecosystem. An ecosystem that made America great. We learned how to live
together and that co-existence helped out as we expanded and planted our
crops.
That has changed. The landscape has changed. The plants that used to exist
in those areas have also changed. Invasive, non-native species are creeping
up with both plants and animals (insects). Why? Sometimes it is because of
development and what is imported and exported to an area. Mostly, it is
caused by lack of awareness that resources are not being replaced. What are
people doing to help that wonderful cropland flourish in the future. What
happens when the valuable soil is forever changed? Yes, crop rotations,
that's obvious. I'm not ignorant. However, to get what they had, you have to
remember and protect what gave it to you to begin with.
This is not a tree hugging response. This is common sense. There are
"islands" of prairie dogs in areas where development has squeezed and
surrounded them so that their concentrations appear to be in greater
numbers. This concentration wouldn't be an issue if they weren't surrounded
on all sides and had areas that weren't overrun by development, predation,
lack of vegetation, invasive species, changed vegetation in the form of
brush and trees that are non-native to the area, and more. Instead of using
them to your advantage, as some wise ranchers have, we can't use common
sense to have a species help us in the future? This is very short sighted to
say the least.
I know of a number of ranchers/farmers that are grateful to prairie dogs and
what they've brought to their land. Better, more fertile crops, natural fire
suppression (yes, prairie dog towns have saved entire farms), and more.
If you need them moved off your land, instead of poisoning everything,
shooting and having scavengers and insects add to the "beauty" of your land,
have someone move them for you. There are affordable, more effective
options.
If it were my land, I too wouldn't want someone telling me what to do with
it because they wouldn't like what end of my rifle they would see first,
however, I would do the right thing for the land and the animals that gave
it to me. That is the least I could do for what they gave to me. That is the
least I could do to show I care about my land. That is the least I could do
to help the future of the prairie live on.
Gena Seaberg
Consultant for Prairie Dog Care Domestically and Abroad Since 1995
2023 Adams Avenue
Everett, WA 98203
Office 425.265.0818
Cell 425.870.1729
kato@spro.net
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