The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has reviewed a petition to list the white-tailed prairie dog under the Endangered Species Act and has concluded the petition did not contain substantial scientific data that the petitioned action might be warranted. The negative petition finding was published in the Federal Register.
The Service made the determination in response to a petition received in July 2002 from the Center for Native Ecosystems, the Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, the American Lands Alliance, the Forest Guardians, the Ecology Center, Sinapu, and Terry Tempest Williams, to list the white-tailed prairie dog as a threatened or endangered species. Under the Act, the Service was required to review the petition to decide whether it contained substantial scientific information that listing may be warranted. In accordance with a settlement agreement, the Service had to complete the 90-day finding on the white-tailed prairie dog by Oct. 31, 2004.
6White-tailed prairie dogs are found across the western half of Wyoming, western Colorado, the eastern portion of Utah, and a small portion of southern Montana. The largest remaining complexes or groups, occupying more than 5,000 acres each, are primarily found in Wyoming. An estimated 55 percent of white-tailed prairie dog habitat is found on lands belonging to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
6
White-tailed and black-tailed prairie dogs are genetically two distinctive species. The white-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys leucurus) has a dark eye patch and a short, white-tipped tail. The black-tailed prairie dog has a black-tipped tail.
White-tailed prairie dogs have a looser social structure and occur at a lower density than black-tailed prairie dogs. White-tailed prairie dogs are generally found at altitudes ranging between 5,000 and 10,000 feet in desert grasslands and shrub grasslands. Conversely, black-tailed prairie dogs are found at altitudes below 6,000 feet in grasslands associated with the Great Plains and are not tolerant of shrubs within their colony.
The white-tailed prairie dog is approximately 13 to 15 inches long and weighs around one to three pounds. It is a small, stout rodent with a short, white-tipped tail, large eyes, a blackish brown cheek patch above and below each eye, and a tan-brown pelt. The so-called prairie dog was named for its barking call. All five species of prairie dogs live in colonies.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 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 and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to State fish and wildlife agencies.
- FWS -
For more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, visit our home page at http://www.fws.gov
-FWS-
1in align=left>
1in Visit Mountain Prairie website at: http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov
