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August
24, 2003
UPDATE:
COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE STATES THAT BOULDER ORDINANCE
PROTECTING WILDLIFE CONFLICTS WITH ORDINANCES THAT GUARANTEE EXTERMINATORS
THE RIGHT TO POISON
Letter
from David Crawford, executive director of RMAD, to Boulder City
Council members:
Dear
Council Members:
I am writing
on behalf of the board of directors, staff, volunteers, and constituents
of Rocky Mountain Animal Defense. We appreciate the opportunity
to comment on the discussion between staff and council on prairie
dog management issues.
RMAD has reviewed
the study session materials and has met with staff on this issue.
Our primary reaction is that this is *not* the time for hurried
decision-making.
The City of
Boulder is this country's leader in progressive prairie wildlife
policy. Notwithstanding this fact, we at RMAD have heard remarks
that what Boulder does regarding prairie dog management has virtually
no effect on the long-term survival of the species. Nothing could
be further from the truth.
Other municipalities
look to Boulder for guidance in managing prairie wildlife. They
will follow where we lead. We don't yet know the importance of smaller
colonies to the long-term survival of the species. We do know that
good science respects the "precautionary principle," which
requires erring on the side of nature when we are uncertain of an
outcome, particularly when risking something irreplaceable.
Regardless of
whether or not small colonies will matter to the long-term survival
of prairie dogs, they matter now to the animals who live there or
who otherwise depend on their existence. And they matter to those
of us who place a high value on life.
Remember, the
people of Boulder County assert that protecting habitat for wildlife,
above all other uses, is the most appropriate use of open space.
RMAD advocates
the following solutions:
1. Reconsider
all plans for public development on prairie dog lands. Current planned
projects will displace more than a thousand prairie dogs (for instance,
at Valmont Butte and the recycling center).
2. Stop unnecessary relocation by making land where prairie dogs
are not
desired uninhabitable. Prairie dogs have been relocated repeatedly
from the airport and dam because this land is not being made inhospitable
to prairie dogs after the animals are relocated, thus creating a
never-ending supply of animals in need of relocation.
3. Institute a task force to study the issue of population management.
Killing prairie dogs is not acceptable. Relocation is never 100%
successful — the City of Boulder states that 30%-40% survival
appears to be a
good target. Further, other prairie wildlife is generally not relocated
and is left to die. Other options include contraception. Many of
us believe in spaying/neutering companion animals to control their
populations. The issue of immunocontraception at least deserves
a hearing. What's more, the city would benefit from the involvement
of other interested biologists and advocates.
4. Institute a mitigation fee for development, similar to the attempted
"no net loss of wetlands" but implemented in a way that
might actually be effective.
5. Have a thorough hearing of how open space lands are used and
discuss how some of the agricultural lands might be converted back
to native habitat. The city charter calls for open space to be used
in part to preserve the area's agricultural heritage, but this likely
could be done with much less land being devoted to this purpose.
Having participated
in the production of two national conferences on prairie wildlife,
RMAD is well positioned to assist with populating the task forces
we propose. And we will help in any other way we can to achieve
a favorable outcome for all involved in this critical issue.
David Crawford,
Executive Director
Rocky Mountain Animal Defense
2525 Arapahoe, #E4-335
Boulder, CO 80302
303-449-4422 / 720-565-9096(f)
davec@rmad.org / www.rmad.org
UPDATE: The Boulder city council
agreed to let RMAD counsel and another attorney work with the city
attorney's office to tweak the bird and prairie wildlife ordinances
to ensure they're consistent with state law.
August
14, 2003
RESIDENTS
CONCERNED OVER PRAIRIE DOG EXTERMINATION
Neighbors who live near a public park in Westminster say they didn’t
know it was going to happen; the City of Westminster killed dozens
of prairie dogs in the park...
July
2, 2003
WILD-TO-WILD
TRANSLOCATION OR TRANSPORTATION OF PRAIRIE DOGS The U.S. Food
and Drug Administration lifts the ban on prairie dog relocations
within certain guidelines...
June
13, 2003
GET
A DOG Washington Post editorial concludes, "There is no
inalienable right to own a Gambian rat, a Siberian tiger or any
other animal that was born to live in the wild."
June
11, 2003
HHS
BANS RODENT IMPORTS FROM AFRICA;PROHIBITS DOMESTIC COMMERCE IN RODENTS
AND PRAIRIE DOGS Press release from the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services details the actions intended to prevent the spread
of the monkeypox virus...
June
9, 2003
CDC:
PETS COULD BE SPREADING MONKEYPOX Prairie dogs kept as pets
may be spreading an illness in the Midwest, the CDC warns...
June
9, 2003
THREE
STATES BATTLING MONKEYPOX OUTBREAK A virus similar to smallpox
apparently jumped from an imported African rat to pet prairie dogs...
February
24, 2003
CONSERVATION
GROUPS ACT TO SAVE WHITE-TAILED PRAIRIE DOGS A coalition of
conservation groups and individuals filed suit today to force the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to address the decline of the white-tailed
prairie dog...
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