Fish and Wildlife Service 12-month review of black-tailed prairie dog (4 February 2000)

Colorado Division of Wildlife 2002 Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Inventory

The Prairie Dog Coalition

Great Plains Restoration Council's Prairie Dog Page

National Wildlife Federation's Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Page

National Geographic's Prairie Dog Page

Wilderness Defense! Prairie Dog Page

Texas Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (updates on the Lubbock prairie dogs)

References

1. The role of prairie dogs as a keystone species is now well established scientifically (Kotliar et al. 1999; Miller et al. 2000). Specifically, Kotliar et al. (1999) find that nine species can be considered to be dependent on prairie dogs and their colonies (black-footed ferret, burrowing owl, mountain plover, ferruginous hawk, golden eagle, swift fox, horned lark, deer mouse, grasshopper mouse). In addition, studies are regularly coming forth reporting strong relationships between prairie dogs and other wildlife. For example, Barko et al. (1999) report greater avian abundance on prairie dog colonies than on uncolonized areas and Manzano-Fischer et al. (1999) urge the protection of prairie dogs in order to mitigate against further decline of many grassland birds. These findings are particularly important for biodiversity, as grassland birds are suffering the sharpest decline of any other group of birds since the early 1970s (Knopf 1994). Miller et al. (2000) report more studies along these lines.
   
   We would suggest that the proper use of the species list found in Reading et al. (1989), which is the basis for the 170 species figure, is to advocate for a healthy grassland mosaic–where prairie dog colonies shoulder up to healthy ungrazed (and bison-grazed) areas, alongside flush riparian zones. At present, most of those factors are missing–prairie dogs are underrepresented on the landscape, cattle have caused tremendous damage to upland and riparian areas alike. When examining biodiversity, we need to consider prairie dog colonies as part of the broader landscape and, in particular, how they are fragmented, isolated, and increasingly diminishing on that landscape.
   
   Citations:
   - Barko, Valerie A., James H. Shaw, and David M. Leslie, Jr. 1999. “Birds associated with black-tailed prairie dog colonies in southern shortgrass prairie.” The Southwestern Naturalist 44(4): 484-489.
   -Knopf, Fritz. 1994. “Avian assemblages on altered grasslands.” Studies in Avian Biology 15:247-257.
   -Kotliar, Natasha B., Bruce W. Baker, April D. Whicker, Glenn Plumb. 1999. "A critical review of assumptions about the prairie dog as a keystone species." Environmental Management 24 (2): 177-192.
   -Manzano-Fischer, Patricia, Rurik List, and Gerardo Ceballos. 1999. “Grassland birds in prairie-dog towns in northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico.” Studies in Avian Biology 19:263-271.
   -Manzano-Fischer, Patricia, Rurik List, and Gerardo Ceballos. 1999. “Grassland birds in prairie-dog towns in northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico.” Studies in Avian Biology 19:263-271.
   -Miller, Brian, Ceballos, Gerardo, and Richard P. Reading. 1994. "The Prairie Dog and Biotic Diversity." Conservation Biology 8(3):677-81.
   
   
2. Reading, R.P. et al. 1989. "Attributes of Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Colonies in Northcentral Montana, with Management Recommendations for the Conservation of Biodiversity." The Prairie Dog Ecosystem: Managing for Biological Diversity. Montana BLM Wildlife Technical Bulletin No. 2; Sharps, J.C. and D.W. Uresk. 1990. "Ecological Review of Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs and Associated Species in Western South Dakota." Great Basin Naturalist 50(4).
   
   
3. Wuerthner, G. 1997. "Viewpoint: The Black-Tailed Prairie Dog-Headed for Extinction? Journal of Range Management 50:459-466; Roemer, D.M. and S.C. Forrest. 1996. "Prairie Dog Poisoning in Northern Great Plains: An Analysis of Programs and Policies." Environmental Management 20:349-359.
   
   
4. Knowles, C.J. 1998. "Status of the Black-Tailed Prairie Dog." Prepared for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, June 17, 1998; Mulhern, D.W. and C.J. Knowles. 1995. "Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Status and Future Conservation Planning." In Conservation Biodiversity on Native Rangelands: Symposium Proceedings. August 17, 1995, p.20.
   
   
5. Stockrahm, D.M.R.B. 1979. "Comparison of Population Structure of Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Towns in Southwestern North Dakota." M.S. Thesis, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks; Knowles, C.J. 1998. "An Evaluation of Shooting and Habitat Alteration for Control of Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs." Proceedings of the Eighth Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Conference; Irby, L.R. and T. C. Vosburg. 1994. "Impacts of Recreational Shooting on Prairie Dog Colonies." Fish and Wildlife Program, Biology Department, Montana State University, Boseman, MT. December.
   
   
6. Miller, B., G. Ceballos, and R.P. Reading. 1994. "The Prairie Dog and Biotic Diversity." Conservation Biology 8:677-681; Samson and Knopf. 1994. "Prairie Conservation in North America." Bioscience 44(6).
   
   
7. Barnes, A.M. 1993. "A Review of Plague and Its Relevance to Prairie Dog Populations and the Black-Footed Ferret." Proceedings of the Symposium on the Management of Prairie Dog Complexes for the Reintroduction of the Black-Footed Ferret. Washington, DC: USFWS; Fitzgerald, J.P. 1993. "The Ecology of Plague in Gunnison’s Prairie Dogs and Suggestions for the Recovery of the Black-Footed Ferret," ibid.
   
   
8. Uresk 1985. "Effects of Controlling Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs on Plant Production." Journal of Range Management 38(5):466-468; Collins et al. 1984. "An economic Analysis of Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Control." Journal of Range Management 37(4):358-361; O’Meilia et al. 1982. "Some Consequences of Competition between Prairie Dogs and Beef Cattle." Journal of Range Management 35(5):580-585; Klatt and Hein 1978. "Vegetative Differences Among Active and Abandoned Towns of Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs." Journal of Range Management 31(4):315-317; Hansen and Gold 1977. "Blacktail Prairie Dogs, Desert Cottontails and Cattle Trophic Relations on Shortgrass Range." Journal of Range Management 30(3):210-14.
   
   
9. Reproduction data: The Nature Conservancy. 1995. "Element Stewardship Abstract for Cynomys Ludovicianus (Black-Tailed Prairie Dog)."
   
   
10. Infanticide data: Hoogland, John. 1985. "Infanticide in Prairie Dogs: Lactating Females Kill Offspring of Close Kin." Science 230: 1037-40.
    
    
11. For an excellent in-depth examination of the effects of ranching on public lands, see Waste of the West: Public Lands Ranching by Lynn Jacobs. For information on how to obtain a copy, write P.O. Box 5784, Tucson, AZ 85703.
    
    
12. Powell, Kenneth. 1992. "Prairie Dog Distribution, Habitat Characteristics, and Population Monitoring in Kansas: Implications for Black-footed Ferret Recovery." M.S. Thesis, Kansas State University. 131 pp.
    
    
13. Roemer, David M. and Steven C. Forrest. 1996. "Prairie Dog Poisoning in Northern Great Plains: An Analysis of Programs and Policies." Environmental Management 20(3): 349-59.
    
    
14. Cully, Jack F. Jr. 1993. "Plague, Prairie Dogs, and Black-footed Ferrets." Proceedings of the Symposium on the Management of Prairie Dog Complexes for the Reintroduction of the Black-footed Ferret." Eds. John L. Oldemeyer, Dean E. Biggins, and Brian J. Miller. Washington, DC: USFWS.
    
    
15. Lechlietner, R.R., L. Kartman, M.I. Goldenberg, and B.W. Hudson. 1968. "An Epizootic Plague in Gunnison's Prairie Dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni) in South-Central Colorado." Ecology 49:734-43.
    
    
16. People for Native Ecosystems, PO Box 4973, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87502.
    
    
    

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