Longmont’s city staff has proposed exterminating a small colony of prairie dogs that have made a home on part of a former city landfill.
The city staff spotted the prairie dogs on the onetime landfill that lies immediately south of the Longmont Police Department and Boulder County Sheriff’s Office Firing Range and Training Facility, which is located at 10916 Weld County Road 5.
State regulations require protection of the cap covering the now-closed landfill in order to preserve the integrity of the landfill underneath that cap, Longmont officials said in a Monday morning news release.
“Burrowing animals can cause water intrusion inside the covered landfill, creating the potential for water intrusion and an eventual landfill failure,” the staff said in a “Wildlife Management Request” submitted to City Manager Harold Dominguez on July 7.
Dan Wolford, Longmont’s land program administrator, said on Monday that the prairie dogs likely migrated onto the city property from a neighboring private property immediately to the west of the former landfill.
Read the full story
