Sweeping Lawsuit Won for the White-Tailed Prairie Dog
September 29, 2014
Cottonwood Environmental Law Center and several of its conservation partners won a lawsuit against the United States Fish and Wildlife Service that challenged the agency’s decision not to extend Endangered Species Act protections to the White-Tailed Prairie Dog. The small mammals have been eliminated from 99% of their historical habitat. Much of their remaining habitat is now located in Wyoming’s oil and gas country.
White-Tailed Prairie Dogs are found in the sagebrush-steppe ecosystems of southcentral Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. They provide food for endangered species, including black-footed ferrets, badgers, ferruginous hawks, and golden eagles. These humble prairie dogs also play key roles in mixing soil, resulting in better forage for grazers like pronghorn and bison.
White-Tailed Prairie Dogs are facing significant threats such as oil and gas development, mineral development, poisoning, recreational shooting, off-road vehicle use and plague. In order to ensure that other endangered species can be protected and flourish, the very foundation of their ecosystems must be protected. The White-Tailed Prairie Dog is that foundation, which must be protected by the Endangered Species Act.
Cottonwood and Rocky Mountain Wild represented its members as well as Wild West Institute and Biodiversity Conservation Alliance in this case. Cottonwood is proud to have protected the White-Tailed Prairie Dog as the essential foundation of sagebrush-step ecosystems across the American West.
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