ISSUE BRIEF: Oppose listing the Gunnison prairie dog under ESA
Don’t let radical environmentalists push their radical anti-development agenda with another needless ESA listing!
The Issue:
Currently the Fish and Wildlife Service has undertaken analysis as to whether or not the Gunnison prairie dog should be listed as a threatened species. This listing will result in a multitude of hardships for anyone in the species’ affected region. Listing the Gunnison prairie dog will mean a lengthy mitigation process with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for any project that requires federal permits. Additionally, any project already on land deemed Gunnison prairie dog habitat, is open to be sued by environmentalists under the Endangered Species Act.
In reality, this petition spearheaded by environmental groups has very little to do with the prairie dog at all. It only serves as an attempt to further wall-off the West from development using the Endangered Species Act as a façade. The Fish and Wildlife Service declined to list the Gunnison prairie dog as a threatened species last year due to substantial scientific evidence showcasing the health and vitality of prairie dog populations throughout their range.
Impacts on the West:
The Gunnison prairie dog continues to occupy its original range where the Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that urbanization affects less than 2 percent of the potential habitat within the range of the species. Additionally, no conclusive evidence was found to indicate that over-grazing in the range of the Gunnison prairie dog negatively affected the species’ populations.
Plague, traditionally the biggest killer of the Gunnison prairie dog, also does not conclusively lead to significant decrease of the prairie dogs’ populations. Prairie dogs in general have become more resistant to sylvatic plague, and the Gunnison prairie dog is no exception.
There is no sound science to support the listing of the Gunnison prairie dog as a threatened species, only the desire to impede development at every turn. Don’t let environmentalists have their way and block the safe and responsible development of Western resources. The future prosperity of this country is at stake, and we can’t let a few extremists dictate what happens in our region!
Solutions:
- Take 60 seconds to tell the Department of the Interior that they were right not to list the Gunnison prairie dog as a threatened species last year. Let them know that you support that decision then, and that it’s still the right decision now!
Take Action on this Issue