A Classic Case of Paralysis by Analysis: Recovering the Utah Prairie Dog

For nearly forty years now, the citizens of Iron County, Garfield County, and Wayne County (the “three-county area”) in Southern Utah have been witness to incompetency at its finest while the federal government has attempted to address a decline in the population of the Utah Prairie Dog (“UPD”) by granting the UPD protection under an imprudent, one-size-fits-all Endangered Species Act (“ESA”).

In a partial admission that its efforts over the past 40 years have been little more than futile, the federal government recently announced that, in addition to the 40 years and untold millions of dollars already spent, it will take yet another thirty years and another $106 Million to recover the UPD to the point where it can be removed from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife (i.e., de-listed). Said recovery will be achieved when approximately 1,000 UPDs are counted in the three-county area for a period of 5 consecutive years. Hence, a grand total of 3,000 UPDs is needed. Yet, in the most recent meeting of DWR, DNR, BLM and other concerned local, state, and federal officials, the DWR estimates there are an estimated 12,500 UPDs in the three county area (many argue this number is much larger.) In sum, there are currently enough to have the UPD de-listed 4 times over. So what’s the fuss all about you ask? At issue is the fact that most UPDs dwell on private property, where existing government regulations prohibit them from being counted towards the 3,000 UPDs needed over the three-county area to consider them recovered and subsequently have them de-listed.

Like most well-intentioned, yet flawed governmental regulations, there are unintended consequences aplenty. For example, on private property UPDs are typically insulated from threats posed by natural predators like badgers, raptors of various kinds, coyotes, and foxes, all of whom suffer as a result. Hence, though it behooves the UPD to dwell in alfalfa fields, in back yards, on golf courses, in cemeteries, etc., it can hardly be argued that it is a natural phenomenon—that this is where they belong. Furthermore, as long as the vast majority of UPDs continue to be located here, the UPD can hardly play its vital role in the larger ecosystem, where the UPD is considered a “keystone species” as its presence is central to the survival of a multitude of other wildlife, and many species of plants and insects.

Furthermore, allowing UPDs to run roughshod on private property has proved to be nothing less than devastating to the economies of effected municipalities and counties in Southern Utah. In addition to the millions of wasted taxpayer dollars, allowing the UPD to dwell on private property has cost the citizens of the three-county area untold millions in, among other things, livestock losses, damage to private property, additional costs associated with new construction, and loss of jobs and tax revenue from many employers that have anticipated expanding in or relocating to the area, only to be turned away as a result of being unable to obtain permission to relocate prairie dogs on proposed construction sites in a timely or costly manner.

While the environmental and economic impacts that this issue has had upon the area have been talked about a great deal, a less frequently cited, yet equally vital concern is the real and present danger that mingling UPDs with humans poses. And to that extent, proponents of relocating the UPD to federal land have failed to date because the UPD is a known carrier of the bubonic plague. In fact, it is this very plague that periodically wipes out entire colonies of UPDs at a time. Hence, every day, many plague infested UPDs are in extremely close proximity to humans, including many young children and pets. The fact that the bubonic plague is very rarely transmitted from varmints, including UPDs, to humans is often cited by government bureaucrats. However, one only need look back to a time when millions of humans died as a result of a human exposure to infected rats and mice. And lest one cite the fact that UPDs are rarely in proximity with humans to the extent that mice and rats are, it should be noted that the bubonic plague is often spread through infected fleas—fleas that can and do unknowingly make their way into homes on clothing and pets. This valid concern is posited by the National Park Service and US Department of Interior, who warn national park visitors of the following: “Too many park visitors feed rodents such as prairie dogs, thus causing these animals to lose their natural fear of humans. This mistake also puts you in danger because humans can contract bubonic plague (although never documented at Bryce Canyon) from prairie dogs and other rodents. All it takes is for an infected flea to jump from the prairie dog to you. How close is too close? Fleas can spring up to 10 feet in a single jump! When viewing the activity of a prairie dog town, keep in mind the expression, “I wouldn’t touch ‘em with a ten foot pole?” (http://www.nps.gov/brca/naturescience/upd.htm). Great advice, but how does one square that with the fact that many UPDs live in our back yards, on our golf courses, on our baseball fields, in our cemeteries, etc., where infected fleas are undoubtedly exposed to humans and pets on a daily basis?

To be certain, there continues to be a great deal of frustration and aggravation stemming from policies that place the health and well-being of the UPD above the health and well-being of the good people of southern Utah. And we are assured that if we will only wait another 30 years and spend another $106 Million, THEN the UPD will be de-listed….that is a cost of $35,000/per UPD required on federal land. So why won’t they count ALL of the UPDs? And why, if they won’t count them, won’t they move them all onto federal land where they will be counted? And how can they control them on private property but not count them? The answer lies in the fact that the rules pertaining to how, when, and where UPDs can be trapped and relocated are written by local government bureaucrats and are included in a Habitat Conservation Plan (“HCP”) as it pertains to the UPD. Beyond being one of the area’s best kept secrets, this HCP is filled with nuance after nuance and is structured to ensure that the UPD will remain a viable issue for many years—for many of these same bureaucrats stand to have their positions eliminated when the UPD is de-listed. Is it any wonder that there is no rush to move as many UPDs as possible as quickly as possible from private property to federally controlled lands? Understandably, these bureaucrats maintain that the best interest of the UPD is at heart and that they want to get them off of private property as badly as anyone—but the old saying, “What you are doing speaks so loudly that I can’t hear what you are saying” comes to mind. Indeed, it is in many of these bureaucrats’ economic best interest NOT to relocate all of the UPDs to federal lands at the earliest time possible. Hence, the convenient excuses of the need to have another meeting or pay to have another study done, and their incessant need for more time and money…i.e., millions of taxpayer dollars continue to be spent to acquire additional land to relocate UPDs on to, though nearly 70% of all the land in Utah is already owned by the federal government.

Many years ago, the Peregrine Falcon became an endangered species and was granted protection under the ESA. And it would likely still be there had it not been for the efforts of many private individuals who had an interest to ensure that the Peregrine Falcon was de-listed as quickly (and as cheaply) as possible. These citizens were not interested in having more meetings, more studies, or throwing more money at the problem. Similarly, it will require the efforts of many stakeholders to see to it that as many UPDs are relocated to federally controlled lands as quickly as possible, by demanding that these local bureaucrats allow UPDs to be relocated off of private property everywhere—which they CAN do.

It is important to note that there is not a single federal law that prohibits UPDs from being trapped on private property—it is the locally drafted and implemented HCP that dictates when and where UPDs can be trapped. In addition to trapping and relocating all UPDs on private property, we must also insist that they do a better job of acclimating the UPDs to their new home. At present, only 15-18% of all UPDs relocated to federally controlled lands survive for a period of at least 1 year. To be certain, part of this can be attributed to the fact that the relocated UPDs are not accustomed to being exposed to predation, but these staggering figures can likely also be attributed to the mere fact that officials are relocating them from back yards, golf courses, baseball fields, etc., and moving them on to habitat deemed “ideal”, but was likely deal for UPDs many years ago and not for UPDs accustomed to a diet of Kentucky bluegrass.

We’re waking up! We’re waking up! You can make a difference! If you would like to be part of the local grassroots campaign to organize and coordinate efforts to see to it that the jobs of a few government bureaucrats and the well-being of UPDs do not trump the health, safety and private property rights of the citizens of southern Utah, please contact People for the Ethical Treatment of Property Owners (“PETPO”) at utpetpo@gmail.com .

Matt Munson is an attorney with M.A. Munson Law P.C. His practice focuses primarily on Estate Planning and Asset Protection as well as Corporate and Real Estate Law and Bankruptcy. Mr. Munson is also a proponent of and is highly skilled in the field of Alternative Dispute Resolution.

Prior to entering the legal profession, Mr. Munson was employed as a Commercial and Real Estate Asset Manager, effectively managing a nation-wide portfolio of assets (primarily real estate) for several banks, investors, and other lending institutions. Today, Mr. Munson is also President of Amicus Real Estate Services, a consulting firm that provides a variety of services to many of those same investors and financial institutions that he worked for prior to becoming an attorney.

Matt and his wife Keri have two young sons, ages 7 and 5. Matt is very active in the community and is actively involved in many civic organizations. Upon moving to Cedar City in 2010, Matt was surprised to find that the mismanagement of the Utah Prairie Dog had decimated the livelihoods of many individuals in the area and has had an enormous economic and environmental impact upon effected areas in southern Utah. Hence, Matt founded a local, grassroots campaign known as People for the Ethical Treatment of Property Owners (“PETPO”) to educate, organize, and coordinate the efforts of concerned citizens in an effort to provide solutions and ensure that the jobs of a few government bureaucrats and the well-being of Utah Prairie Dogs do not trump the health, safety and private property rights of the citizens of southern Utah. (utpetpo@gmail.com).”