Boulder – It seems prairie dogs have pushed their luck just a little too far in Boulder.
This year, the chirpy rodents took over the ballfields at Tom Watson Park in the city and began threatening to move in on a multipurpose playing field at Valmont City Park. So, on Tuesday night, the Boulder City Council made a decision that will probably result in the killing of those prairie dogs, even as it designated more areas for them to be protected.
“Our approach to prairie dog management must be balanced,” City Manager Frank Bruno said. “None of us want to have to kill prairie dogs. But we must be reasonable in managing this species and controlling costs.”
That, in a city famous if not infamous for trying to save prairie dogs, is nothing short of radical for some residents, and the council’s decision drew an audible “spffff” from a prairie dog supporter in the audience.
“It’s a dark day for Boulder,” said David Crawford, executive director of Boulder-based Rocky Mountain Animal Defense.
The city has already created about 5,000 acres of prairie dog conservation areas on Open Space and Mountain Parks lands. Prairie dogs also live peacefully on another 2,500 acres of open space, said Mark Gershman, a city environmental planner. And, of all the land in the state designated as havens for black-tailed prairie dogs, as much as 70 percent is in Boulder County.
When the council approved the prairie dog component of its wildlife management plan, it designated 149 acres within the city’s urban area as prairie dog protection sites. But it also designated 96 acres for near-term prairie dog removal, through relocation or lethal methods. On another 361 acres, prairie dogs will be allowed to stay for now but could be moved or killed later.
Lindsey Sterling Krank, a spokeswoman for Keep Boulder Wild, said the prairie dog plan doesn’t do enough to proactively prevent conflicts.
“The urban wildlife management plan is really aggressive and a little bit extreme,” Krank said at Tuesday’s meeting.
The city should put more effort into building and maintaining artificial and natural barriers to contain prairie dogs, she said.
But not everyone in Boulder finds prairie dogs so endearing.
The city already has hundreds of thousands of the critters under protection, resident India Wood said. “The city of Boulder does not need to be the center of prairie dog preservation.”
Suzy Ageton, Boulder’s deputy mayor, said the debate has struck at the heart of two core Boulder values: the desire to preserve wildlife and the desire for quality outdoor recreation spots. The council will never find a balance to please everyone, she said, but the approved plan is good enough.
