Utah Prairie Dogs Prosper under State Management

Court ruling gives authority back to the federal government
Cedar City – For more than two years, Utah prairie dogs in southwestern
Utah have prospered under the watchful eye of state wildlife biologists.
Now, those biologists are concerned. They say a recent court ruling—which
gives management authority back to the federal government—could make it
challenging to manage conflicts between prairie dogs and people.
On March 29, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a district court
ruling made in November 2014. The district court ruling gave management
authority—for Utah prairie dogs found on private land—to the state of Utah.
The March 29 ruling gives that management authority back to the federal
government.
Utah prairie dogs were listed as endangered shortly after the Endangered
Species Act was enacted in 1973.
“One of the biggest challenges to managing Utah prairie dogs are federal
rules that do not allow biologists the flexibility they need to do what’s
best for the species and for the people who live in areas where prairie
dogs are found,” says Greg Sheehan, director of the Utah Division of
Wildlife Resources (DWR).
The biggest concern, Sheehan says, is what biologists can and can’t do with
Utah prairie dogs found on private land. Under federal rules, the number of
prairie dogs that can be lost to development and other events on private
land is extremely limited. The state plan, however, gave biologists added
flexibility to move prairie dogs off private land.
In 2015 and 2016, an average of 2,300 prairie dogs were moved off private
land in Wayne, Garfield and Iron counties each year. DWR biologists took
the animals to public land that provided the prairie dogs with good
habitat. Prairie dogs have done well in these areas and are contributing to
the species recovery goals.
“It was a win-win for everyone,” Sheehan says. “Local communities, local
governments and private landowners were happy. And Utah prairie dogs have
never done better.”
Utah prairie dogs were under state management from November 2014 to the
March 29, 2017 circuit court ruling. During that time, the population
reached the highest numbers seen since formal range-wide counts started in
1976.
Based on counts conducted in spring 2015, biologists estimated the
population at 92,894 prairie dogs. That was the highest count on record.
In spring 2016, disease within the prairie dog population caused numbers to
dip a bit, to 82,685. But the 82,685 prairie dogs was still the second
highest count since surveys started in 1976.
“State management was a win-win for everyone,” Sheehan says. “Prairie dogs
were placed in the best suitable habitat, and private landowners who had
conflicts with prairie dogs could ask that the animals be relocated to more
suitable habitat.
“Now,” he says, “the management of Utah prairie dogs is back in a quagmire
of federal bureaucracy. The state rules allowed us to work proactively,
with local governments and landowners, to do what was best for the prairie
dogs and those who live with the animals in the three counties.”
Adam Kavalunas, Utah prairie dog recovery biologist for the DWR, says the
state’s plan—The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Utah Prairie Dog
Management Plan for Non-federal Lands—went into effect in early May 2015.
The plan was compiled with input from numerous local entities. Those
entities included county governments, state legislators, the Bureau of Land
Management, the U.S. Forest Service, the State Institutional Trust Lands
Administration and the Utah Department of Natural Resources.
“The state management plan has been well received by the local
communities,” Kavalunas says. “It provides more options to work through
Utah prairie dog conflicts on private land than federal rules allow.”
Even though the state plan offered more leniency in working with prairie
dogs, there has been no noticeable negative effect on the population.
“The last two years have resulted in the two highest population estimates
since counts began in 1976,” Kavalunas says. “Even though there was a
concerted effort to remove prairie dogs from highly sensitive areas, such
as housing subdivisions, city parks and other public use areas, the overall
number of Utah prairie dogs did more than maintain itself—it actually
increased during the two years of the plan."