www.RogerWendell.com
Roger J. Wendell
Defending 3.8 Billion Years of Organic Evolution^SM

Prairie Dogs Going, going, gone...

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Rodentia Suborder: Family: Sciuridae Subfamily: Sciurinae Genus: Cynomys Species: ludovicianus

Click Here for my YouTube video of a Prairie Dog barking in east Boulder...

Click Here for the free online version of the Urban and Suburban Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Management Handbook (1.7 Mb).

A Keystone Species:

• Historically, five species* of Prairie Dog, numbering nearly 5 BILLION (!), were found throughout the Great Plains and parts of the western interior of the North American continent. The Prairie Dog ecosystem was the center of an amazing array of plants and animals that was created by the very activity of the Prairie Dogs themselves.  Today, with our "modern" development practices, Prairie Dog numbers have been reduced so dramatically that they now inhabit less than 2% of their original range.
• Did you know that 98% of Black Footed Ferret diet is Prairie Dogs? To have a viable population of 70-80 ferrets requires 8-10,000 acres of contiguous/adjacent prairie dog towns and there are almost NO towns of that size left anymore!
• Prairie Dogs live in huge family groups called "coteries." Baby Prairie Dogs are called "pups" while their parents can be called either a boar (males) or sow (females). Prairie Dogs construct elaborate networks of interconnecting tunnels with multiple entrances - there are separate rooms for sleeping, nursing, storing food, and for hiding while listening to outside noises...
• If you've ever lived near or seen an area alive with prairie dogs you know how special and wonderful Nature can really be! Prairie Dogs have been a big part of my life, here in Colorado, since the very early 70s and I'm going to continue working to defend them and hope you will too!

*Black-tailed, Gunnison's, Mexican, Utah, and White-tailed

Note: the 1993 edition of The Dictionary of Ecology (Henry W. Art, General Editor), defines a "Keystone Species" as organisms that play dominant roles in an ecosystem and affect many other organisms...

Prairie Dog Day Radio Interview!
(Prairie Dog Day falls on the same date as Groundhog Day)

On Monday morning, February 2nd (2009), I had the good fortune to conduct a Prairie Dog interview on A Public Affair, one of the radio programs I host at KGNU. My guests were Lindsey Sterling Krank and Dr. C. N. Slobodchikoff. Lindsey is an environmental scientist and Executive Director of the Prairie Dog Coalition and Dr. Slobodchikoff is a professor of biology at Northern Arizona University. Additionally, Dr. Slobochikoff is co-author (with Bianca Perla and Jennifer Verdolin) of the book, Prairie Dogs - Communication and Community in an Animal Society. Our time together was packed-full of information about Prairie Dogs so I hope listeners will use it as an opportunity in acting to protect these special creatures!

Click Here to listen to the entire interview (it's a 22mb mp3 file)

All KGNU photos by Judith Miller Smith

Prairie Dog Species and Genus - Some Naming History
by Dr. C.N Slobodchikoff in Prairie Dogs (Communication and Community in an Animal Society) pp. 35-36

"All of the five species of prairie dogs are members of the genus Cynomys, which was named and described as a genus in 1817 by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque. Rafinesque also described a species of prairie dog in this new genus, Cynomys socialis, which was subsequently found to be the same as the species ludovicianus described by George Ord two years earlier in 1815 (taxonomists refer to such names as synonyms and the process of identifying different names that refer to the same organism as synonymy). However, Ord described the black-tail prairie dog species ludovicianus as a member of another genus, Arctomys, which was the genus in which marmots were included until the marmot genus name changed to Marmota. Because Ord described the species Ludovicianus in 1815, two years before Rafinesque described the same animal as socialis, Ord's species description is considered to be the valid one (this is called priority in taxonomy), even though he described it in a different genus. The species Ludovicianus was moved to the genus Cynomys in 1858 by Spencer Fullerton Barid. Baird was also the fist to name and describe the Gunnison's prairie dog, Cynomys gunnisoni. He published his description of this species in 1855 but thought that it belonged in a different genus of ground squirrels, the genus Spermophilus. In 1858 he decided that gunnisoni was really a prairie dog, and changed the genus designation to Cynomys. The white-tailed prairie dog species leucurtus was named and described by C. Hart Merriam in 1890, and the Mexican prairie dog species mexicanus was also named and described by Merriam in 1892. The Utah prairie dog species, parvidens, was named and described by Joseph Asaph Allen in 1905. By the time Merriam and Allen were describing species, the prairies dog genus Cynomys was well established, and all three species described by these two people were placed in this genus."

Threatened and Endangered:

During the fall of 2000 I drove through some magnificant Prairie Dog habitat in our neighboring state of Utah. It's so sad that the government has to put up signs reminding people not harm or kill these wonderful creatures. I hope my little web page helps people better understand how important it is to not only protect Prairie Dogs, but all other living creatures and habitat as well! - Roger J. Wendell

Lewis and Clark Expedition
(1804 - 1806)

"The little animals found in the plains of the Missouri which I have called the barking squirrel... generally associate in large societies placing their burrows near each other and frequently occupy in this manner several hundred acres of land... They will generally set and bark at you as you approach them, their note being much that of the little toy dogs, their yelps are in quick succession and at each they give a motion to their tail upwards." - Meriwether Lewis, July 1, 1806

Kids "get it," why can't the rest of us??

5th Grader Thomas Price, an 11 year old at Stratton Elementary School
in Colorado Springs, wrote this about Prairie Dogs in the April/May/June
2005 edition of the Sierra Club's Peak & Prairie publication (p. 11):

• Thomas says Prairie Dogs have been the subject of Native American stories for centuries, stating, "The Cheyenne Indians sang songs to the Prairie Dog; the Apsakoke tribe thought so highly of them that one of their family groups was called 'Those of the Prairie Dog.' The apaches and Navajos associated Prairie Dogs with rain and water, believing that their burrows were 'breathing tubes' that helped to connect to underground water or create rain."
• "Black-tailed prairie dogs are those most commonly found in Colorado." "their habitat is short-grass prairie and non-rocky soil. They live from the Missouri River west to the Rocky Mountains, and from southern Canada all the way south to Mexico. They do no hibernate, and are diurnal, which means they are more active in the day-time."
• "The original range of the black-tailed Prairie Dog was about 100 million acres. Right now, it's estimated they only have 1.5 million acres on which to live. Development has taken away much of their natural habitat."

Prairie Dog Rescue:

Prairie Dog habitat, especially here in Colorado, is constantly being gobbled-up by development. When the destruction can't be stopped many resort to physically "rescuing" the Prairie Dogs to another location. The methods and success rates vary but it's certainly something to consider when all else fails. I, myself, have assisted with a couple of Prairie Dog rescue missions including this one on May 16, 1998 near the Denver Tech Center. This particular operation was conducted by Susan Miller, founder of Wild Places - okay, maybe I wasn't that much help but I'm thankful I captured these pictures!

In the top three photos Jeff Wind and Susan Miller are injecting soapy water into the Prairie Dog den in an effort to coax the animals to the surface. Although wet and disoriented, the Prairie Dogs (and their young) make their way to warm towels and caring hands that transport them to quiet and secure enclosures for travel. Sometimes medications are administered depending on the health of the colony and other factors.

In the bottom three photographs you can see one of the babies being dried and prepared for transport. Normally every effort is made to minimize human contact or actual touching. Some of the volunteers were eager to please the photographer, something we'll be more careful about in the future...

It was at about that time, in the late 90s and early 2000s, that local governments throughout Colorado started working on laws to discourage the inter-county transfer of Prairie Dogs - a disgusting political tactic designed to stop rescue operations altogether!

Aurora Outreach:

Jenny and Paula tell it like it is!

Aurora needs to know!

So much has been lost - The wild grasses, Prairie Dogs, and the huge open spaces that were once our birthright. It has been gratifying to spend a few moments with caring, thoughtful activists willing to take their time to act. - Roger J. Wendell

Prairie Dog Photos by Sandy Nervig:

I've posted these photos with Sandy's permission - if you'd like copies of the originals, or
a version with a higher resolution than these, please contact Sandy at: sandyn@rockin. tv

Tower & Hampden

Tower & Hampden, Aurora

Tower & Hampden

Eating scarlet globe mallow

"Love huddle"

"The Matrix" - pups playing

CDOT (Colorado Department of Transportation)

Saturday, May 19, 2001:
Folks from the Sierra Club's High Plains Group and Wilderness Defense! participated in a CDOT protest organized by RMAD (Rocky Mountain Animal Defense). Due to construction on Parker Road, in-between Hampden and I-225, CDOT planned to remove hundreds of Prairie Dogs and use them as Ferret food.

RMAD, as a last resort, asked CDOT, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the City of Aurora to relocate these Prairie Dogs - the expense would be less than .15% (point one five percent) of the project's construction costs!  RMAD, the Sierra Club's High Plains Group and Wilderness Defense! all believe that the road should have never been widened in the first place and that the land and Prairie Dogs should be left alone!

That same evening Judy, Kerry and Susan were featured on Denver's Channel 2, 4, 7, 9 and Fox news programs to stress the importance of Prairie Dogs and intact ecosystems.

	Judy on News 4	Judy makes a point	Kerry on News 4
Stop the torture	Stop the killing	Two in the wind	CDOT and the Army Corps of Engineers
Corner outreach	Cat-in-the-hat	Lined up in protest	Kids!

Click Here for my "Signs of Protest" page...

Grocery Store Outreach:

Me and Dianna VanderDoes

Signing up

Crowds gather

Saturday, March 25th, 2000: Sierra Club and Wilderness Defense! members sought signatures for an open space campaign that will help protect prairie dog habitat around the Denver area and Colorado.

Parker Road Outreach:

Sunday, December 5th, 1999:
Rocky Mountain Animal Defense (RMAD) conducted an educational campaign against the poisoning of thousands of Prairie Dogs in the southeast corner of the Denver Metro area (Near E-470 and Parker Road). Members of Wilderness Defense! joined the large RMAD contingent with these photos as a result:

All Along the Road...	Snow was not a problem	Cold Weather Outreach	Halt the Extermination	Lining Up
Outreach with a View	Young but serious	Passing Out Fliers	Read my sign!	RMAD meets the press...
Sunday Services...	Welcome to the Suburbs!	Parker Rd Prairie Dog Home	Threatened Parker Rd Habitat	Me helping out...

Prairie Dog Consultant:

Sandy Nervig 303-517-3167 Email: sandyn@rockin.tv
(Growing Ideas, LLC - www.growingideas.tv)

On 03-26-2016 Sandy reminded me of the following:

• Prairie dog relocation can only take place between June and October.
• People CAN coexist with prairie dogs, a Keystone Species that supports over 200 other species, on-site. Passive relocation and fencing barriers allow prairie dogs to stay on a property, but off of certain areas.
• Shorter, colder days and inclement weather from November into spring causes prairie dogs to hibernate off and on, called torpor. January through May is mating and birthing season. This is not conducive to relocating.
• Locating LAND to move prairie dogs onto is difficult. Colorado law has made it virtually impossible to move them between counties, and finding land within the same county happens but not frequently. Public land managers almost always say NO to relocating onto OUR public lands even though they are responsible for preserving valuable native wildlife like prairie dogs. Private landowners are an option, however they too are inclined to not like or want prairie dogs either.
• We, and that includes YOU, must keep trying to save them because endangered prairie dogs are down to about 1% of historic numbers and need our help in order to survive!"

Prairie and Prairie Dog Links:

• Prairie Dog Coalition
• Prairie Dog Day - Same as Groundhog Day, every February 2nd
• Prairie Dog Lover's Burrow
• Southern Plains Land Trust

Other Links:

Back to Roger J. Wendell's Home Page...

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