The high-altitude cousin of the black-tailed prairie dog has also been denied federal protection.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Thursday that the white-tailed prairie dog does not merit protection under the Endangered Species Act.
The agency reached the same conclusion in December for the species’ better-known cousin, the black-tailed prairie dog. The white-tailed prairie dog is found at altitudes above 5,000 feet in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and Montana.
The black-tailed prairie dog is found on lower grasslands in at least 11 central and Western states. The two species are similar but distinct. Both are in the squirrel family.
Federal wildlife authorities said that the white-tailed prairie dog population “has not substantially changed” and that the critter doesn’t face significant threat from urbanization or energy development in the region.
The Fish and Wildlife Service said white-tailed prairie dogs could be affected by urbanization, especially in Colorado. But the agency concluded urbanization “is not considered a range-wide threat.”
