Prairie Dog Monitoring

Black-tailed prairie dogs occupy approximately one percent of their historical habitat of 100,000,000 acres. The dramatic decline in Black-tailed prairie dog habitat and numbers is the result of changing land use patterns, habitat fragmentation, disease, shooting, and poisoning (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2000). In February 2000 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ruled that the Black-tailed prairie dog warranted listing as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. They failed to list the Black-tailed prairie dog as a threatened species because of an overabundance of other higher priority species. In 2004 the black-tailed prairie dog was taken off the list for consideration as a threatened species (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2004).

However, the Black-tailed prairie dog can be considered a keystone species in mid- and short- grass prairies; Black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes), Burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia), Mountain plover (Charadrius montana), Kit fox (Vulpes velox), and Ferruginous hawk (Buteo regalis) are dependent on them for survival (National Wildlife Federation 2000a,b). Scotts Bluff National Monument, Nebraska is one of only seven National Park Service units within the historic range of the Black-tailed prairie dog that maintains a population.

Reports

Scott's Bluff National Monument      Resource Brief
Peitz, D. G., and J. T. Cribbs.  2008.  Black-tailed Prairie Dog Monitoring at Scotts Bluff National Monument, Nebraska: Annual Status Report 2008.  Heartland Network Monitoring Report Update—August, 2008
Peitz, D. G., and J. T. Cribbs. 2007. Black-tailed Prairie Dog Monitoring at Scotts Bluff National Monument: Annual Status Report 2007. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/HTLN/NRTR—2007/032. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado.
B. A. Hummel, J. T. Cribbs and D. G. Peitz. 2006. Black-tailed Prairie Dog Monitoring at Scotts Bluff National Monument: Annual Status Report 2006. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/HTLN/NRTR–2006/020. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado.
2005 Annual Report
2004 Annual Report
2003 Annual Report
2002 Annual Report
2001 Annual Report
2000 Annual Report
1999 Annual Report

 

Monitoring Questions and Approach

1. How does the abundance of prairie dogs fluctuate over time?
   • Using visual counts from elevated stands, all individuals within a colony are censused annually to track trends in abundance of the species. Counts are conducted three consecutive mornings in mid-July.
2. How does the spatial extent of the colony fluctuate over time?
   • Using a global positioning systems (GPS), the extent of both the clip line and active burrows are delineated and recorded to track trends in colony sizes over time. Comparison of colony maps from successive years are made within a geographic information system (GIS).
3. Does sylvatic plague influence the Black-tailed prairie dog community at Scotts Bluff National Monument? Introduction of Sylvatic plague into North America from Europe is believed to cause massive to complete die-off. This becomes increasing true as colonies are reduced in size and become more isolated.
   • Park staff monitor Black-tailed prairie dog populations for die-offs and document and report all such events to appropriate officials throughout the year.

Protocol

• Plumb, G. E., G. D. Willson, K. Kalin, K. Shinn, W.M. Rizzo. 2001. Black-tailed prairie dog monitoring protocol for seven prairie parks. U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, Missouri Field Station, Columbia, MO. 27 pp. (PDF)

Reports

• Go to the Reports page

References

• National Wildlife Federation. 2000a. Black-tailed prairie dog state by state status. National Wildlife Federation.
• National Wildlife Federation. 2000b. Question and answers about the black-tailed prairie dog’s warranted but precluded status. National Wildlife Federation.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2004. Findings for the resubmitted petition to list the black-tailed prairie dog as threatened. Federal Register 8/18/2004. 69(159):51217-51226.
  

Presentations

• Results from over a decade of black-tailed prairie dog monitoring. (PPT).

Links

• WASO NR GIS Data Store

Contact Information

• David Peitz
  Wildlife Ecologist (417-732-6438 ext. 276)