Moving prairie dogs

The Utah prairie dog has been winning the battle against landowners in Iron County thanks to the animal's federal protection under the Endangered Species Act since 1973. However, the county is now in the position to implement a strategy in its Habitat Conservation Plan intended to keep the threatened mammal alive and thriving while moving previously stalled development forward. The Iron County Commission is in the final stages of solidifying a deed of conservation easement and memorandum of understanding with the Division of Wildlife Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife for 220 acres in Little Horse Valley, near Minserville. The property, purchased in 2008 from the state of Utah Schools and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, will be designated as prairie dog habitat with grazing permits available for ranchers. Property owners kept from developing their lands because of the dog presence will have the opportunity to purchase 10 acres of the conservation easement to clear one acre of land from the prairie dogs at $1,000 per acre...Spectrum