Facebook Twitter Email
MONDAY, JANUARY 21, 2002

Prairie dogs are spreading "like wildfire" on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, a land coordinator for the Oglala Lakota Tribe told The Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

But if you ask environmentalists, a specific species of called the black-tailed prairie dog, is endangered. This puzzles some on the reservation -- which, along with four others in the state, is home to large numbers of the dog --- who want the animal controlled while others view it as sacred.

Ranchers are also confused because they see so much of the animal that they wonder what a threatened designation for the dog will do to their land. The U.S. Forest Service, part of the Department of Agriculture, is finalizing a management plan that could affect ranchers' rights.

Get the Story:
Prairie dog at heart of grasslands debate (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 1/21)

Related Stories:
Threatened status sought for prairie dog (12/21)
Prairie dog protection urged (12/19)
Prairie dog plan criticized (12/7)
Disease hurting reservation ferrets (11/27)
Group sues over prairie dog shooting (11/21)
Comments sought on prairie dog shooting (9/27)
Tribes creating prairie dog plans (8/30)
Ferret farm being considered in Mont. (8/17)
Move is on to protect prairie dogs (7/6)
Prairie dog colony to be vacuumed (6/14)
Ferret area changed to satisfy drillers (5/21)
Prairie dog shooting banned (4/24)
Ban on prairie dog shooting sought (3/30)
State bans hunt on prairie dogs (11/17)
Rare ferrets find new home (10/9)