For the sixth year in a row, conservation organizations like Center for Native Ecosystems and cities in Colorado and New Mexico have celebrated Prairie Dog Day.  Prairie Dog Day is inspired by Groundhog Day, which also took place this year on February 2nd.  While prairie dogs may not be as skilled at predicting the weather as the renowned Punxsutawney Phil, their fate is closely tied to the fate of the entire prairie ecosystem: as the prairie dog goes, so goes the swift fox, the burrowing owl, the ferruginous hawk, and the critically imperiled black-footed ferret.

There are five species of prairie dogs, and all five are keystone species.  The fate of hundreds of other species, in addition to entire ecosystems, depends in complicated ways on the fate of the prairie dogs.  One species, the Utah prairie dog, is already protected under the Endangered Species Act, yet the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service allows the continued destruction of significant numbers of animals and significant habitat every year.  The Mexican prairie dog is also protected under the Act but occurs entirely outside of the U.S.  The other three species, all occurring in the United States, face continued threats and continued declines from oil and gas drilling, overgrazing, and habitat loss.

Joined by Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, the Denver Zoo, Forest Guardians (now WildEarth Guardians), the Prairie Dog Coalition, and others, we hope Prairie Dog Day helps bring increased attention to these ecologically-critical wildlife species and the ecosystems of which they are such a vital part.