The National Wildlife Federation petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to emergency list the black-tailed prairie dog in August 1998. Shortly thereafter, the Service announced that it did not meet the requirements for emergency listing, but continued to evaluate the petition to list the species and additional information from states, other federal agencies and tribes in the range of the black-tailed prairie dog. In March 1999 the Service determined that there was enough substantial information to warrant a more comprehensive look at the species.
"We want to give scientists, public agencies, ranchers, agricultural groups, and others additional time to get all studies they may have done on black-tailed prairie dogs to us so that we have as much good, scientific information as possible to use in completing this comprehensive review," said Ralph Morgenweck, director for the Services Mountain-Prairie Region.
Information should be postmarked by July 19, 1999, and mailed to: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (BTPD), 420 South Garfield Ave., Suite 400, Pierre, SD 56501-5408.
The black-tailed prairie dog is a small, stout ground squirrel that measures 14 to 17 inches long and weighs 1 to 3 pounds. It is found in Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming, southern Saskatchewan, Canada and northern Mexico. Historically, the species also inhabited Arizona but no longer occurs there. The occupied range of the prairie dog has declined by approximately 95 percent in the United States during last century, with less than 1 million acres remaining of what may have been more than 100 million acres of original black-tailed prairie dog habitat.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System comprised of more than 500 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands, and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fish and wildlife management offices, and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
For more information on this species, please see the Services web site at www.r6.fws.gov/btprairiedog.
