Conservationists hope to show prairie dogs improve grazing land

[question everything]

Conservationists hope to show prairie dogs improve grazing land

By Morgan Lee
ASSOCIATED PRESS

April 13, 2005

MEXICO CITY – Conservationists have bought 46,000 acres of desert grasslands in northern Mexico in an effort to show the black-tailed prairie dog – seen as a pest in much of the western United States – can help grazing lands thrive.

The goal is to protect the prairie dog, as well as rare native plants and birds. The project also aims to promote better farming practices among cattle ranchers, agricultural cooperatives and Mennonite farmers who have been hurt by 12 years of drought.

Resented by ranchers, who see them as pesky grass-eating competition for their cattle, prairie dogs actually can help grazing lands by cutting down shrubs and churning up the soil when they burrow, allowing water and air to filter into the ground, said Terry Sullivan, assistant state director for the New Mexico office of the Nature Conservancy, the project's U.S. sponsor.

More..

Find this article at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050413/news_1n13prairie.html

[Hand]

1. Good on 'em!

It's a simple fact that prairie dogs (along with buffalo, but that's another whole discussion) played a huge role in maintaining the Great Plains as a unique grassland. Plus they're cute! :loveya:

Nowadays, of course, we've plowed the prairie under, killed off 95% of the prairie dog population, and pretty well dried out the aquifers... and the former prairies are fast becoming a toxic desert that can no longer rebound from periods of drought.

Oh, well. I suppose there's always room for a few more McMansions...

:grr: :cry: