Prairie Dog Working Group

In 2017, the City of Boulder formed an advisory working group to review the city’s current prairie dog management practices. Through collaborative efforts, the advisory group has made recommendations to the city manager regarding management of prairie dogs and their habitats on city-managed public land.

The formation of the group came in response to a request in 2016 from Boulder City Council members. Council members asked City Manager Jane Brautigam to appoint a diverse working group of community members to solicit broad community input and develop recommendations on the city’s prairie dog management efforts.

Ongoing staff analysis of Phase II of PDWG recommendations

• Open Space Board of Trustees April 10, 2019 meeting
• Parks and Recreation Advisory Board – April 22, 2019
• Environmental Advisory Board – May 1, 2019
• City Council -  May 7, 2019 (*THIS DATE MAY CHANGE)

City Council Study Session - Dec. 11, 2018, 6 pm in Council Chambers - City Council Information Packets

June 1, 2017 Information Packet to City Council on the Report on Progress to Date and 2017 Recommendations

Feb. 1, 2018 Information Packet to City Council: Final Report on Phase 1 and Phase 2 Update

Phase 2 Recommendations & Analysis Board Presentations

Environmental Advisory Board Memo

PDWG Environmental Advisory Board Presentation

Open Space Board of Trustees Memo

PDWG Open Space Board of Trustees Presentation

Prairie Dog Working Group Meetings

Meetings are open to the public with a portion of the meeting reserved for public comment. 

Prairie Dog Working Group Members

The working group includes 12 City of Boulder resident and non-resident members, representing broad interests and community perspectives. The City Manager has appointed the following participants - Aaron Cook, Amber Largent, Amy Masching, Carse Pustmueller, Dan Brandemuehl, Deborah Jones, Elle Cushman, Eric Sims, Jr., Jeff Edson, John Vickery, Lindsay Sterling-Krank, and Patrick Comer.

How has the City of Boulder helped local prairie dogs and their associated species?

Currently, City of Boulder prairie dog management plans, policies, practices and ordinances developed over the last two decades prioritize conservation of prairie dogs and minimization of lethal control. In fact, the City of Boulder is a pioneer in limiting lethal control of prairie dogs and effecting large-scale relocation projects – with more than 1,150 prairie dogs relocated in 2013 and 2014. Today, the City of Boulder’s intense focus on minimizing lethal control is unique among land management agencies in northern Colorado. 

City of Boulder prairie dog management history

1967: Boulder residents voted to approve a specific tax to acquire and maintain open space – the first time residents in the United States voted to tax themselves for open space. That tax measure allowed the City of Boulder to acquire thousands of acres of grassland open space where prairie dogs now thrive.

1996: The City of Boulder developed a plan – with the help of farmers and community members – that had a set of goals for prairie dog management, including the creation of conservation areas for this important wildlife species.

2005: The Boulder City Council adopted a Wildlife Protection Ordinance after a long and intense public process, which limits the use of lethal control on prairie dogs and wild birds by requiring landowners to obtain a permit from the city. In order for a permit to be issued, the landowner must satisfactorily demonstrate that all non-lethal options for managing prairie dogs or wild birds on a site were considered, and are not feasible.

2006: The City Council accepted the Urban Wildlife Management Plan, which included measures to identify prairie dog protection opportunities in the urban service area and strategies for resolving conflicts.

2010: The City Council accepted the Grassland Ecosystem Management Plan, which reflected the ecological importance of prairie dogs in creating and sustaining distinctive ecological conditions on City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) grasslands. That plan provides a framework to conserve prairie dogs and their associates with the other conservation targets by:

• Establishing viability standards and conservation objectives for all eight targets, including prairie dogs and associated species.
• Defining land management designations and applying them to every prairie dog colony mapped on OSMP lands.
• Developing criteria to guide relocation of prairie dogs to, from, and within the OSMP land system.

2016: In August, Boulder City Council members suggested City Manager Jane Brautigam appoint a working group of resident and non-resident members to solicit community input and obtain recommendations on the city’s prairie dog management efforts. In October, the city helped supervise the successful relocation of a 153-member prairie colony in north Boulder to city open space east of Cherryvale Road and north of Marshall Drive, where the colony is now thriving. 

2017: In January, the City of Boulder began seeking applicants for an advisory working group to review the city’s current prairie dog management practices, and make recommendations to the city manager regarding management of prairie dogs and their habitats in Boulder and on city-managed public land.