6.15.06

Good Day!

There is a lot going on in Colorado, so please take the time to read this announcement. If you have any questions about how you can get involved and help the animals, please contact me!

The battle to save Boulder’s prairie dogs continues to heat up and is receiving national attention. The Humane Society of the United States issued a press release yesterday, condemning the Boulder City Council for approving the plan to kill thousands of prairie dogs. Thanks to efforts by members of Keep Boulder Wild, a large ad was secured in the Boulder Weekly, shortly following a decent article on the prairie dog situation. Today’s edition of the Daily Camera covered the press release issued by the HSUS though, as usual, gave the final word to Boulder’s eager-to-kill council. The full article is included below the RMAD Calendar as is the HSUS press release.

A group of activists once again braved the intense heat last weekend to march through the Boulder’s Farmers Market. Activists took turns in RMAD’s beautiful new prairie dog costume and greeted fans, friends, fence-sitters and detractors alike. Activists handed out hundreds of fliers both residents of Boulder County, the Rockies, and beyond. Tourists return to Boulder every year just to see prairie dogs – yesterday RMAD received a call from a travelers coming from Boston who “absolutely cannot pass through Colorado without seeing black-tailed prairie dogs.”

ACTION: Keep Boulder Wild members have been actively studying the locations at which prairie dogs are most at risk – Tom Watson Park and Valmont City Park. Solutions are available! Please help us help the prairie dogs by writing to Boulder City Council members and by writing to your local media in favor of ONLY non-lethal solutions. For more information on how to get involved, please see http://www.keepboulderwild.org/.

On July 13, 2006 the Colorado Wildlife Commission will consider the reinstatement of a trapping season for mink, marten, long-tailed weasel, short-tailed weasel, swift fox, gray fox, opossum, ringtail, and western spotted skunk. This proposal was set forth in a petition submitted by the Colorado Trapper’s Association, and its approval would allow for the box trapping and subsequent killing of the species listed.

ACTION: Protect Colorado’s wildlife from trappers! To prevent this ill-conceived plan from becoming a reality:

· SUBMIT your comments to Colorado Division of Wildlife by noon on June 28. By mail to 6060 Broadway, Denver, CO 80216; by e-mail to wildlife.comm@state.co.us; or by fax to 303-291-7110.
· ATTEND the Commission meeting on July 13-14 at the Hilton Fort Collins, 425 West Prospect, Fort Collins, CO 80526 starting at 9:00 am. More information: http://wildlife.state.co.us/WildlifeCommission/Archives/2006/July2006.htm.

Talking points:
· The population statuses of the targeted species are not well-known for Colorado.
· Cheap, non-lethal alternatives exist for the collection of genetic data including fecal and hair sampling.
· Population density cannot be accurately assessed through small scale trapping programs.

Learn more:
· The Commission’s Rule-Making Notice: http://wildlife.state.co.us/NR/rdonlyres/BED4A78E-5733-4B1E-BB6A-2178C5E9EB23/0/NoticeJuly2006.pdf
· A recent Denver Post article on this matter: http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_3818085
· About the fur trade: http://www.furfree.hsus.org/

Area activists are hosting Colorado Springs demonstrations against Ringling’s Cruelty to Animals. Give them an ice-cold welcome! The next demo is Saturday, June 17 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at The World Arena, 3185 Venetucci Blvd., Colorado Springs. Directions and a map can be found here: http://www.worldarena.com/page.asp?id=About_Us-Location . Activists will be meeting in front of Gate B, on the North side of the Arena. This is the main gate. Don’t worry, you won’t miss the banner, signs, and elephant on crutches! A carpool will be available from Lone Tree (Highlands Ranch) area: If you want to carpool, you must RSVP with Sisley at sisley@milroy.com. They will be leaving at 4:15 p.m. sharp!

Our friends and Cruelty-Free World are hosting a fundraiser for the SHAC 7 tomorrow night in Denver! Please attend if you can. More information below.

- Chris -

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Boulder Plan to Kill Prairie Dogs Inhumane and Ineffective, says The Humane Society of the United States
WASHINGTON (June 14, 2006) – The Humane Society of the United States condemned the City Council of Boulder, Colo. today for accepting a proposal by city staff to kill prairie dogs at Valmont Park and Tom Watson Park starting around July 1. In the past, when conflicts arose between humans and prairie dogs, the city would attempt to relocate the prairie dogs to safety. Now, the city is choosing not to relocate, but to kill some 1,900 prairie dogs.
“The council’s approval of this proposal signifies a complete reversal of progressive and protective wildlife policy in Boulder,” said Lauren Nolfo-Clements, Ph.D., wildlife scientist for The HSUS. “We encourage them to reexamine their decision and come to a humane solution.”

The city of Boulder is home to thousands of acres of black-tailed prairie dog colonies, a keystone species whose burrows create habitat for many other species and who plays a critical role in the structure of grassland ecosystems. This species occupies about 1 percent to 2 percent of its historical habitat and qualifies for a threatened listing under the Federal Endangered Species Act.

The city cites a lack of relocation sites, budget issues, and the insignificance of urban prairie dog populations to the species as a whole as justifications for this move. The city, however, has not done a recent assessment of its open space lands to determine whether any vacant lands are suitable for prairie dogs and associated wildlife. Although the city continues to acquire open space lands at costs in the millions of dollars, the city has not demonstrated that it is acquiring any land suitable for prairie dogs and associated wildlife.

“The idea that urban prairie dogs are of no ecological value is not only false but also ethically reprehensible,” said Nolfo-Clements. “Considering decimation of this species through habitat loss, human exploitation, and introduced plague, every prairie dog is a vital component of both the genetic and social structure of a given colony.”
The proposed method of euthanasia for these animals is CO2 inhalation, a method that can be both painful and inhumane. Research has shown that death by CO2 results in the swelling and hemorrhaging of the lungs. Prairie dogs are adapted to living in burrows, where CO2 concentrations are higher and oxygen levels lower than they are in the open. As such, elevated levels of CO2 probably do not cause unconsciousness in this species as rapidly as they would in non-burrowing species. In fact, a study on wild burrowing rabbits compared with open-air domesticated rabbits showed that the wild rabbits survived almost 3 times as long as the domesticated rabbits at CO2 concentrations of 50 percent.
“There is no guarantee that killing the prairie dogs will be successful in the long term,” said Nolfo-Clements. “Research has shown that prairie dogs quickly recolonize abandoned areas, even when the burrows have been plugged. The cycle of killing will have to continue if Boulder adopts this inhumane policy.”
CONTACT: Tracey McIntire, 301-548-7793, tmcintire@hsus.org
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Humane Society faults planBoulder: Group's prairie dog facts are wrong
By Ryan Morgan, Camera Staff Writer
June 15, 2006The national office of the Humane Society of the United States weighed into Boulder's prairie dog fray Wednesday with a news release that calls the city's policies "inhumane and ineffective."But city officials said the animal-rights group doesn't have its facts straight.Lauren Nolfo-Clements, a wildlife scientist for the Humane Society's office in Washington, D.C., said she was disappointed that Boulder plans to use "lethal control" to remove prairie dogs from some parts of the city."Generally, (Boulder is) known as a very wildlife-friendly sort of town," said Nolfo-Clements, who said Boulder animal-rights activists told her about the policy. "It's something that's enviable in the East."Boulder's wildlife officials have identified 10 prairie dog "complexes" within the city where the animals and humans clearly conflict. They've noted that most of the complexes are small, fragmented and far from ideal habitat for the animals, and they clearly should be removed.But Nolfo-Clements said research shows that for the species as a whole to thrive, its members need both large and small colonies."Even small colonies can play a small role as to whether the species survives in a given area," she said.The city said it's forced to use lethal control at Tom Watson and Valmont City parks because there aren't relocation sites available. The society places some of the blame for that on the city's Open Space and Mountain Parks Department, which Nolfo-Clements said hasn't opened up enough of its properties for the animals.City officials said they found the statement surprising and took issue with some of its claims."It is important to keep in mind that the city of Boulder has been a national leader in protecting open space and natural habitat through its progressive planning actions and open space acquisitions over the past 100 years," city spokeswoman Jodie Carroll responded in a letter to the Humane Society.

"The city owns and manages over 40,000 acres of land outside the city dedicated to open space and 'greenbelt' protection," the letter stated. "Approximately 5,000 of those acres (supporting between 65,000 and 250,000 prairie dogs) are specifically set aside as prairie dog habitat conservation areas and are not under consideration for removal of prairie dogs."The Humane Society said 1,900 prairie dogs are slated to be killed. But the city only has immediate plans to kill prairie dogs at Tom Watson and Valmont City parks - a maximum of 300 animals, said Jeanne Scholl, a conservation manager for the Parks and Recreation Department.Although wildlife planners have identified another 96 acres within city limits where prairie dogs pose a clear conflict and should be removed, the city is going to do everything possible to avoid killing those animals, Scholl said.
"We've done lots of relocations to open space in the past, and I think there may be a time in the future when we can do relocations to open space again," she said.Scholl said the open space department uses "sound criteria" to decide which properties qualify as prairie dog relocation sites."The bottom line is, open space is there to manage multiple species and multiple ecosystems, and it can't just be a place to relocate every prairie dog," she said.

Contact Camera Staff Writer Ryan Morgan at (303) 473-1333 or morganr@dailycamera.com.