Nebraska's Prairie Dog Conservation Plan

07/06/01 DRAFT OF PRAIRIE DOG CONSERVATION PLAN AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW

LINCOLN - The draft of Nebraska's conservation plan for the black-tailed prairie dog will be released Monday, July 9, for a 30-day public comment period.

The plan was developed with input from a Task Force whose members represent the broad-range of issues related to prairie dog conservation and input from the public through a series of forums held throughout the state earlier this year.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission led the effort, organizing the Task Force and forums. The Commission will sponsor three public meetings later this month to discuss the draft plan. It also will make available copies of the plan for public review.

Mike Fritz, natural heritage zoologist with the Commission, said one of the most important components of the draft plan calls for incentives for landowners who voluntarily conserve or expand prairie dogs numbers on their land.

"We're going to ask you keep what you have or increase the number of acres of prairie dogs, but we realize that in order to do that incentives are the key," Fritz said.

To be effective in maintaining or increasing prairie dog numbers, incentive programs will have to be available in multi-year, long-term contracts.

Implementation of the incentive portion of the plan will hinge on the availability of funding. Fritz said payments could come from a variety of state and federal sources. Eleven states involved in developing conservation plans for the prairie dog will ask for a grassland conservation program in the 2002 farm bill.

In 1998, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was petitioned to list the black-tailed prairie dog under the Endangered Species Act. A threatened species listing might result in the Fish and Wildlife Service restricting control activities and requiring increases and expansion of the BTPD and its habitat.

Nebraska joined other states in developing state prairie dog conservation plans. The region-wide standards developed in that process were incorporated into the Nebraska plan.

The goal of the Nebraska plan is to conserve the prairie dog in Nebraska and prevent its listing as a threatened species. The goal includes maintaining the existing acreage of prairie dogs through no net loss and increasing the number of acres where possible. This will be done through public lands and the voluntary participation of landowners. Under the plan, landowners would maintain control options and management flexibility.

The draft plan will be available for review on the Game and Parks Commission's web site at www.ngpc.state.ne.us. Printed drafts can be obtained at the Commission's district offices in Alliance, Kearney, Lincoln, Norfolk, North Platte and Omaha. Copies will be mailed to interested parties upon request by writing to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission at 2200 N 33rd, Lincoln, NE, 68503, Attn. Prairie Dog Plan, or calling (402) 471-5419. Written comments can be sent to the Commission at the same address. The deadline for comments is Aug. 7.

A series of three public meetings will be held across the state to provide information on the draft plan and to obtain public comment. The meetings schedule follows:

Grand Island - July 24, 7:30 p.m. -9:30 p.m., Central Platte Natural Resource Districts office, 215 N. Kaufman Ave.

North Platte - July 25, 7:30 p.m. -9:30 p.m., Quality Inn, 2102 S. Jeffers St.

Scottsbluff - July 26, 7:30 p.m. -9:30 p.m., University of Nebraska Panhandle Research and Extension Center, 4502 Ave. I.

Public comments will be incorporated into a final draft of the plan, which will be presented to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission board for approval at its October meeting. A public hearing during the meeting will give the public a final opportunity for comment.



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Related:
MT is also working on a conservation plan which will encourage ranchers to stop poisoning p-dogs by allowing them $ for their loss of rangeland and cropland. This is designed to actually promote recreational hunting, and help stabilize/conserve the populations. The only obstacle will be funding, which doesn't seem to be a problem.
This is a part of an 11 state conservation program which will hopefully keep the p-dog off the endangered list.


See: GREAT FALLS TRIBUNE July 9, 2001
 
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