July 30, 2010

• About the Coalition
  • Coalition Email Links
  • Coalition Efforts
  • Coalition Members
  • Employment
  • Members' Accomplishments
  • Support Coalition
  • Funders
  • Volunteer Opennings
• About Prairie Dogs
  • Black Tailed Prairie Dog
  • White Tailed Prairie Dog
  • Mexican Prairie Dog
  • Utah Prairie Dog
  • Gunnison's Prairie Dog
  • Fascinating Facts
  • Associated Species
• Alerts
• Children and Education
• Events & Issues
• Earth Friends Challenge
• For The Media
• Resources
  • Books
  • Talking Points
  • Education and Outreach
  • Legislation, Regulations and Ordinances
  • Research Publications and Maps
  • Links
  • Prairie Dog Ecosystem Science Library
  • Southern Plains Land Trust's Fact Sheets
  • Power Point Presentations
  • Prairie Dog Relocators - State by State
  • Interactive Slideshow
  • Management Plan Recommendations
  • Proposed Management Plans
  • Five Species Status
  • Front Range Presentations
• Site Map
• What's new
• Who We Are

support for this website is provided by the Earth Friends Wildlife Foundation

Coalition Efforts

Coalition Accomplishments

The Prairie Dog Coalition is proud of our recent accomplishments!

• Support organized for members working on a settlement with the U.S. Forest Service resulted in a decrease of prairie dog acres poisoned on our National Grasslands and long-term, humane solutions will be implemented;
• Began project collaboration among members working on the Grassland Species Online Database & the Tribal Lands Coordinator project;
• Respond to media calls, most recently resulted in a cover story in E-Magazine;
• Successfully hosted our first annual fundraiser and meeting;
• Recruited organizational members and continued soliciting inidividual supporters resulting in the fulfillment of our 2004/2005 goal to increase membership by 100%! and;
• Increased the amount of action alerts and responses to the government on the above actions from 1 dozen to 13,400!

Coalition Efforts

The PDC is working on the efforts outlined below. Please contact our office if you are interested in volunteering!

Public Response - Everyday, our Coordinator responds to public inquiries regarding prairie dog rescue situations, advocacy training, campaign coordination and media inquiries.

Website - The PDC is consistently working to improve and update our website so that our individual and organizational members can stay abreast of the most recent developments in prairie dog and grassland management and have resources at their fingertips to abet their efforts.

Public Outreach Project - Media campaign to inform the public of the current prairie dog and Great Plains urgent imperilment. Objectives of the project are to connect with the public, mobilize them to act and equip them with the proper tools to utillize.

Online Database - Predator Conservation Alliance, PDC and the Denver Zoo- Conservation Biology. Project results are an on-line database composed of all scientific publications relevant to the prairie dog genus and their associated species. The Grassland species database has been in demand for years by prairie wildlife and grassland advocates. It will be the first of its kind.

Tribal Lands Coordinator - The PDC, Forest Guardians, Great Plains Restoration Council and Predator Conservation Alliance are working together to establish a coordination project between Native American communities and tribal lands where extensive prairie dog habitat exists. The Coalition seeks funding for a liason or coordinator to determine the focus areas by mapping key colonies, research these communities' current needs and build these relationships.

Pawnee National Grassland - Project funding to compel PNG to receive displaced black-tailed prairie dogs for relocation projects. The PNG contains 193,000 acres of prairie and offers ideal habitat for black-tailed prairie dogs. However at present, prairie dogs inhabit only 1,659 acres of that habitat. The majority of PNG is leased out to cattle grazing.

Colorado Front Range Working Group - SB111, passed in 1999, requires the approval of county commissioners to relocate prairie dogs across county lines. Over the last five years, only one relocation has been allowed over county lines. The law severely hampers the ability of both public and private entities to locate land for relocation within the State of Colorado and provides county commissioners with an easy way to avoid the prairie dog crisis. Currently, diverse interests along the Front Range are seeking solutions to the problems SB111 creates for everyone, especially the prairie dogs. The Coalition coordinator will participate in this effort to keep abreast of developments with SB111, meet with key decision-makers, raise public awareness about the issue, and engage the public in the process.

Prairie Dog Relocation Handbook Project - The relocation handbook can be used to help efforts to relocate black-tailed prairie dogs and to learn more about the habits of all five species of prairie dogs. Our goal is to incorporate the most successful relocation methods into public and private prairie dog management plans. The Coalition has laid a solid foundation for the handbook project. To complete the handbook project, our scientific data and methods need to be reviewed and edited by professionals pre-distribution.

Resources Collection - The Coalition focuses on maintaining the most accurate and up to date scientific resources on Grassland Species and their ecosystem.

Media & Fundraising Workshop for Members - An event for Coalition members to attend and be educated on how to respond and work with the media and fundraise in an effective manner on issues and campaigns relating to prairie dogs.

Brochure Production & Distribution - The PDC brochure needs to be updated and distributed.