Arizona to Reintroduce Black-tailed Prairie Dogs

This small burrowing mammal was once common across the grasslands of southeastern Arizona but is now extirpated there due to an extensive poisoning campaign based on the belief that prairie dogs competed with cattle.

Population declines began in the late 1800s and continued into the mid-1900s, leading to extirpation of the species in Arizona sometime between 1930 and 1960.

Since that time, the prairie dog has been able to reestablish itself in areas poisoned decades ago, and it is now locally common in areas like the Coconino Plateau.

Black-tailed prairie dog (Photo courtesy AGFD)

The Arizona Game and Fish Department, AGFD, has studied the feasibility of re-establishing the black-tailed prairie dog within its former range in Arizona. A reestablishment proposal has been developed that would reintroduce the species within its historical range in the state at sites on federal lands.

Habitat evaluations have identified Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, 45 miles southeast of Tucson, as the preferred site for the first re-establishment attempt in Arizona. This location offers more than 15,000 acres of suitable grassland habitat.

Under this proposal, prairie dogs will be released within their historical range at sites on federal lands. The AFDG says, "This effort will contribute toward range-wide conservation efforts and benefit the state through reestablishment of an extirpated species."

In November 1999, nine state wildlife agencies within the species' historic range, including Arizona, finalized and implemented a Black-tailed Prairie Dog Conservation Assessment and Strategy to guide conservation and management of the species on a range-wide basis. Each state agreed to convene a working group, and develop and implement state black-tailed prairie dog management plans.

The commitments in this conservation agreement and the resulting state management plans contributed to the 2000 decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the species from the list of candidates for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act.

In its reintroduction proposal, the AGFD says impacts of activities under this reestablishment proposal on other land uses and wildlife resources will be "negligible."

"Prairie dogs will be released at sites on federal lands at which the grazing lessees have agreed to cooperate," the agency says. "We anticipate no conflicts with any current or future recreational uses. There will be no significant soil, vegetation, or cultural disturbance at any site. All activities will have only localized effects, and National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, cultural resources, and other required compliance will be completed by the appropriate agency."

Prairie dogs are a keystone species for grasslands. Says the agency, "The reestablishment of prairie dogs to the grasslands of southern Arizona will help restore a critical function of this ecosystem."

A wide variety of priority wildlife species such as burrowing owls, golden eagles, and pronghorn are expected to benefit from grassland restoration.

Find the "Proposal to Reestablish the Black-tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) to Southern Arizona," is online here.

The agency is accepting public comment this week on the reintroduction proposal. Send e-mail no later than February 28 to btpd@azgfd.gov.

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