The Prairie Dog Coalition’s Seventh Annual “Living on Burrowed Time” gala Friday in Boulder will honor cable television giant Ted Turner for conservation work on his 2 million acres of ranchland.
The coalition, a program of The Humane Society, is specifically recognizing Tuner’s restoration of 11,000 acres that are home to more than 150,000 prairie dogs.
“Turner’s work to bring back wildlife populations is without parallel,” the coalition said in a release about Friday’s 5:30 p.m. $100-a-plate benefit in the St. Julien Hotel Ballroom. Tickets are $150 per person at the door. Ticket sales will go to improving the coalition’s prairie dog management plans and field projects, coalition officials said.
Turner chairs many foundations, including the Turner Foundation, dedicated to improving air and water quality, developing sustainable energy and wildlife habitat protection.
“I am honored to receive this award,” Turner said in a statement. “I feel it is our duty to protect these animals on our land — not only because, as I’ve always said, it was their home before it was mine, but because these animals are absolutely essential to the health and well-being of surrounding species, as well as to the land itself.”
The coalition is also celebrating its 10th anniversary.
Electa Draper: 303-954-1276 or edraper@denverpost.com
