Less than 5,000 Utah prairie dogs exist today. Photo © James M. Phelps
Slipping Toward Extinction
Utah prairie dogs have been reduced from their historic acreage of 448,000 to a mere 7,000 acres today – a decline of over 98%. Like other prairie dogs, the Utah prairie dog has a prolonged history of abuse. After years of poisoning campaigns, indiscriminate shooting, disease and loss of habitat, the Utah prairie dog was listed as an endangered species in 1973. In 1984, pressures by ranchers, farmers and developers in the state of Utah and the federal government resulted in the prairie dog being reclassified as threatened, a less protective designation. A census done in 2000 counted only 5,878 Utah prairie dogs, and the following year biologists counted only 4,217. The declines continue to take place in all three recovery areas designated for the species.
Natural History
The critically imperiled Utah prairie dog is the smallest prairie dog in North America, as well as the rarest. This small mammal forages on grasses, flowers and seeds in the sagebrush plains of Bryce Canyon National Park and a few other scattered locations across the southwest corner of Utah. They dig vast underground networks of burrows, where they sleep, breed, hide from predators and spend the cold winter months.
Conservation Status
-Threatened Species, Endangered Species Act, 1984
Action Taken
Center for Native Ecosystems joined WildEarth Guardians, author Terry Tempest Williams, and a coalition of other conservation organizations in an effort to stay the hand of extinction for the Utah prairie dog. The coalition filed a petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to upgrade the species’ status under the Endangered Species Act to Endangered, thereby providing increased legal protections. The coalition also continues to pressure the Service, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Forest Service to ban killing and habitat destruction of the Utah prairie dog.
Read More
Petition to List Utah Prairie Dog as Endangered
Legal Challenge to US Fish & Wildlife Service Finding on Utah Prairie Dog
