Landowners offer 'safe harbor' to prairie dogs

Allen Henri doesn't like prairie dogs — their burrows jam up his farm equipment — but soon, he'll open the gates of his ranch to a whole colony of the foot-high, furry animals.

Henri, the first to sign up for a prairie dog conservation project called "safe harbor," agreed to allow the prairie dogs to set up camp in his cattle-grazing pasture in exchange for a new fence and some land improvements.

"I'm a long ways from an environmentalist, but they've taken the stance that they need to work with the farmers and make it worth our time to have prairie dogs," he said. "I figured this was good for my ranch and the prairie dogs."

Nine different environmental organizations, including the Farm Bureau and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, recently banded together to back the safe harbor program, which focuses on creating alliances with private landowners by offering incentives for letting prairie dogs live on their property.

"Now we are working together and focusing our energy," said Clair Baldwin, Utah prairie dog coordinator. "If we can't save the prairie dog this way, the reality is it probably can't be done."

More than 70 percent of Utah Prairie Dogs, which are currently considered threatened, live on privately owned land. The species, characterized by a black, eyebrow-like marking above the eye, is exclusive to seven counties in south central Utah. Until recently, it was listed as an endangered species.

"Our objective right now is to be able to remove the Utah Prairie Dog from the threatened species status," Baldwin said. "The only way we can do that is to look to the private landowners."

Baldwin spent the day Thursday meeting with ranchers and farmers to discuss the project in Bryce Canyon . It's a tough argument to pitch, he said.

"These people have fought prairie dogs for so long that in their minds, the only way to fix the problem is to eradicate the population," he said. "We have to change their minds. We have to convince them this is another solution."

Six landowners have already signed a safe harbor contract, allowing prairie dogs to be relocated onto their land, and seven more are in the process, Baldwin said. The agreements are tailored to fit each farmer's needs. In most cases, farmers designated an area where the animals can run loose and others where they are not allowed.