Forest Service approves plan to poison more prairie dogs on national grasslands

Three years of poisoning combined with plague has reduced prairie dog colonies to about one percent of the grasslands affected by today’s decision. Prairie dogs are key components of the grasslands which they inhabit. They provide food, burrows, and other benefits that sustain many of the other species that live on the prairie.

“America’s grasslands are part of our natural heritage,” said Jonathan Proctor, Great Plains representative for Defenders of Wildlife. “We should be celebrating and restoring these special places, not spreading poison across them. After years of making prairie dog recovery a priority, the Forest Service is doing a complete 180-degree about-face.”

- rest at www.defenders.org/newsroom/press_releases_folder/2008/08_12_2008_prairie_dog_poisoning_approved_on_national_grasslands.php