AP: After ruling, Utah removing hundreds of prairie dogs

[Omaha Steve]

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/2af7053528534a9b973c6cc88d91e087/after-ruling-utah-removes-hundreds-prairie-dogs

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST

CEDAR CITY, Utah (AP) — Most mornings, wildlife biologist Jessica Van Woeart and her team go to work armed with peanut butter.

In upscale subdivisions and across rural pastures in southern Utah, they use it to help trap prairie dogs and move them away from residents who have been under siege from the small burrowing rodents for years.

Van Woeart's team is doing something that was relatively rare and complicated until last year, when a federal court judge removed endangered species protections for the Utah prairie dog.

Activists say the ruling could also weaken protections for similar animals all over the country, and on Monday it will come before a federal appeals court in Denver.

FULL story and more photos at link.


In this Aug. 6, 2015 photo, a prairie dog barks at it's new colony after being trucked some 25 miles away from Cedar City, Utah. State biologists were out this summer rounding up prairie dogs that have overrun a small southern Utah town and moving them where they can’t wreak havoc. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)


In this Aug. 6, 2015 photo, a prairie dog looks from a artificial burrow made from irrigation piping after arriving at the remote site in the desert, some 25 miles away from Cedar City, Utah. State biologists were out this summer rounding up prairie dogs that have overrun a small southern Utah town and moving them where they can’t wreak havoc. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)