texas parks & wildlife By Marsha E. May, Vicki Sybert and Heather Cardella Texas Black-tailed PrairieMonitoring DogPacket lack-tailed prairie dogs Unfortunately throughout their (Cynomys ludovicianus) are an range there has been a drastic de- Bicon of the grasslands. These cline in the population. Black-tailed animals were once common in short prairie dog colonies currently occupy and mixed grass prairies throughout less than 1% of their historic range the western mid-west, including (See Map on pg 2). Historically, mil- Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Colo- lions of acres of Texas grassland were rado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, covered by prairie dog towns, today New Mexico, South Dakota, North they cover less than 150,000 acres. Dakota and Wyoming, as well as The major factor affecting population Canada and Mexico. Field notes from decline is loss of habitat due to con- early explorers, museum specimens, version of native prairies to cropland. and turn-of-the-century accounts in Other factors include poisoning, the literature contain information recreational shooting, the pet trade upon which the historical range of and Sylvatic Plague. the black-tailed prairie dog in Texas Prairie dogs are an important part is based (Bailey 1905). Although of the ecosystem, their digging aerates these accounts provide useful in- and promotes soil formation, they formation, they are not scientifi- clip back brush maintaining the short cally accurate estimates of the total grass prairie and they are a keystone number of acres that were inhabited. species providing food and shelter for Offering Texans Bailey (1905) described the range of as many as 170 different animals. A a way to get the prairie dog in Texas as extend- keystone species is a species that other ing from Henrietta, Fort Belknap, species depend upon for survival. The involved in Baird, and Mason west to near the Burrowing Owl, Mountain Plover, Rio Grande River, north through Ferruginous Hawk, Golden Eagle, conservation the Panhandle, and south to Devil’s Horned Lark, swift fox, and prong- research River, to 10 mi (16.2 km) south horn as well as many others all benefit of Marathon and 25 mi (40.2 km) from prairie dogs. south of Marfa. This equates roughly Now, through participation in the northwest 1/2 of the state and the Texas Black-tailed Prairie Dog includes all or portions of the High Watch you can help widen our un- Plains, Rolling Plains, Edwards Pla- derstanding of black-tailed prairies teau, and the Trans-Pecos Ecological dogs and what is contributing to Regions. Bailey (1905) estimated their decline. The Texas Parks and there were 800,000,000 prairie dogs Wildlife Department (TPWD) needs covering an area of 90,000 mi2 or your help to monitor prairie dog 57,600,000 acres (233,100 km2, or colonies in your area by observing 23,310,000 ha). Although these his- and collecting data. The data that is 4200 Smith School Road torical numbers are the most reliable collected will help TPWD to moni- Austin, Texas 78744 early estimates for prairie dogs in tor population trends and develop more effective conservation and man- PWD BK W7000-1123 (03/10) Texas, they were based only on rough estimations. agement methods. 2 The Texas Black-tailed Prairie Dog Conservation and Management Plan The Texas Black-tailed In 1999 representatives from the eleven Current Conservation Guidelines Prairie Dog Conservation states that encompass the range of the in Texas and Management Plan Black-tailed prairie dog formed the Inter- In February 2000 the U.S. Fish and state Prairie Dog Conservation Team. One Financial incentives exist to help defer Wildlife Service determined that the black- of the actions of this team was to develop a the costs of black-tailed prairie dog conser- tailed prairie dog warranted listing under state conservation and management plan. vation on private lands. Some of these incen- the Endangered Species Act, but declined A Texas Black-tailed Prairie Dog Working tives exist through the following organiza- to list the species at that time because there Group was formed and they drafted The tions and programs: were other species also waiting to be listed Texas Black-tailed Prairie Dog Conservation that were in greater need of protection. The and Management Plan on March 24, 2004. • Land Incentive Program (TPWD) http:// Black-tailed prairie dog was then placed on The working group was composed of 3 www.tpwd.state.tx.us/landwater/land/pri- the candidate list of species. On August 12, private landowners, and representatives from vate/lip/ 2004, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service commodity, ranching, farming, conservation • Grassland Reserve Program (NRCS) removed the Black-tailed prairie dog from groups, and state and federal agencies. Goal http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/GRP/ the candidate species list because of new in- 2 of the plan is to develop and implement an • Environmental Quality Incentives formation regarding the range-wide impact effective education and outreach program. Program (NRCS) http://www.nrcs.usda. of disease, chemical control and other lesser That is where the Black-tailed Prairie Dog gov/programs/eqip/ factors, and recent state estimates of oc- Watch program comes in. For a copy of the • Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program cupied habitat. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Texas Black-tailed Prairie Dog Conservation (NRCS) http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/pro- Service reviews the prairie dogs status an- and Management Plan go to: http://www. grams/whip/ nually. For more information go to: http:// tpwd.state.tx.us/prairiedog • Partners for Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) mountain-prairie.fws.gov/species/mammals/ http://www.fws.gov/partners/ btprairiedog/ • Cooperative Endangered Species Conser- vation Fund (Section 6) Grants to States & Territories (USFWS) http://www.fws.gov/ endangered/grants/section6/ • Habitat Conservation Plan (USFWS) http://endangered.fws.gov/hcp/#about • National Fish and Wildlife Foundation http://www.nfwf.org/ • Playa Lakes Joint Venture http://www. pljv.org/ Ways in which to conserve or enhance prairie dog populations include: ma- nipulating livestock grazing pressure through placement of salt and water, controlled burning used to increase potential habitat for prairie dog expan- sion, allow prairie dogs to expand natu- rally, or restriction on shooting seasons to prevent over-reduction in the density of prairie dogs. 3 Myths About Prairie Dogs Myths Myth #1: Prairie dogs compete with domestic animals for forage. Truth: About 300 prairie dogs will eat as much as a cow and a calf. Myth #2: Prairie dog activity causes erosion. Truth: Digging activities of prairie dogs aerate the soil which increases soil absorption of water and pro- motes the formation of soil. This activity increases plant diversity by improving soil conditions and therefore decreases erosion. Myth #3: Prairie dogs carry many diseases harmful to humans and livestock. Truth: Prairie dogs, like many other rodent species can be infect- ed with diseases that are transmit- ted by fleas such as plague. The likelihood of human infection from prairie dogs is no greater than in- fection from other common urban Pioneers settling in the Panhandle High Plains/Short grass Prairie as a rodents such as tree squirrels. and Rolling Plains of Texas recog- priority area for conservation. Prairie nized the value of abundant grass- lands are one of the least appreci- lands, a plentiful water supply as ated and most quickly disappearing Myth #4: Prairie dogs are every- well as other available resources in a ecosystems in the Western Hemi- where. time when the region was considered sphere. Presently, most populations Truth: It is often thought that by many to be a vast desert waste- of prairie wildlife exist in scattered, prairie dogs are very abundant. land. Today, the myth of wasteland isolated remnants of prairie land- Local abundances can give the im- persists in spite of an abundance of scape. The broad scale loss of grass- pression that they are everywhere. wildlife and dramatic topography. lands has produced dramatic declines However, they actually occupy less The Land and Water Conservation in the diversity of plant and animal and Recreation Plan, the strate- species. As many as 55 species of than 1% of the gic plan guiding Texas Parks and prairie wildlife are currently listed Great Plains. Wildlife Department (TPWD) for under the Endangered Species Act as the next 10 years, designates the endangered or threatened. 4 About Black-tailed Prairie Dogs “Just above the entrance of prairie dog (Cynomys parvidens) is listed as Prairie dogs live in deep burrows 3-4 in threatened and the Mexican prairie dog (C. (7-10 cm) in diameter with funnel-shaped Teapot creek on the star’d sid mexicanus) is listed as endangered. Others entrances. Burrows typically descend at there is a large assemblage of include the white-tailed prairie dog (C. leu- a steep angle for 7-16 ft (2-5 m) before curus), Gunnison’s prairie dog (C. gunnisoni), leveling off. From the lower portion of the the burrows of the Barking and Black-tailed prairie dog (C. ludovicia- burrow, which itself may be 13 ft (4 m) Squirrel.”— Meriwether Lewis, 1804 nus). The Black-tailed prairie dog is the only long, extends blind side tunnels and nest prairie dog found in Texas. chambers. The main burrow entrances are In the exploration of the newly acquired The black-tailed prairie dog is named marked by mounds with parapets construct- Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark crossed ed around them. These mounds are often 12 vast prairies spanning the Mississippi River for its black tipped tail. It weighs one to three pounds and is generally 10-16 inches in (30 cm) high and serve as dikes to keep valley west to the Pacific coast during 1804 flash floods from inundating the burrows.