So GENERALLY I would say you have failed to change one persons mind about prairie dogs on this forum. Based on my research of this thread

Okay, lets start from the beginning:

...they dont destroy the vegetation, the rancher does...
...I don't want a brother's cousin ex in-law story either...
And ranchers are the problem, and they hate them, because they can blame there terrible ranching skills on something...
Or, keep shooting them, and wait until they are endangered and you wont be able to anymore.
...many people are ignorant about PD's...
...but I can guarantee you they won't ruin it like an average rancher in Texas with his cattle.
...Aldo Leopold would be appalled at many of yalls views on conservation and wildlife if the man was still living. And stx, you should know that soil that is brought up to the top is generally better, not worse.

And I understand, a lot of y'all are set in your ways, but I bety'all didn't research the information to form your own opinion...
And rifleman, wolves are a natural predator and good for the ecosystem. It only takes a little research there to see that. And before you play the livestock card, the government subsidies lost livestock.
...Why is the whole stateof Texas overgrazed, bc ranchers don't know how to ranch anymore.
So y'all look at this overgrazed land and are trying to tell me the rancher is not the problem? I can guarantee you that if these ranchers quit getting subsidized for their poor ranch management of cattle, there wouldn't be overgrazed land in Texas... Fight for the ranchers all you want, but on average, they do a terrible job.
...but wait until it's gone, and I'll tell you, told you do.
...That should be common sense, but ranchers, in a general sense, know they will get paid by the government if they don't do it right.
...all I'm asking is for you to open your eyes to conservation of the habitat a little...
Y'all are getting panties in a wad bc y'all ranch... but in Texas as a whole, the habitat is terrible, and that it's due to ranchers...
...they are more ranchers in the state that know how to play the subsidy game than the rancher who knows how many is too much.
I won't have a problem finding a job in this state for being a ranch manager if I wanted...
...Sure, not ask ranchers use it, but some do. No, I don't know how they do it, but there are a lot out there, and you can see it if you look.
...That is a problem, bc these people that voted that way are uninformed, and vote...
...I have no bad data with false statements...
...So tell me, where does that blame go?...
...you sir, are a fool.
...and you want to say the arent in trouble?

And for someone that claims they know a lot, obviously you don't...

I have no idea what all these close-minded, no-article-reading, ignorant fools are all worked up about.

That looks like a lot of acres, but it's not at all. They have lost over 99% of their original habitat, and you want to say the arent in trouble?

And for someone that claims they know a lot, obviously you don't. Fragmentation is the main decline to any animal, and if you don't think so, prove me wrong about the prairie dogs.

And then you say plague wont hurt them. Plague can wipe out a whole colony, and once it wipes out a colony, it can't be reestablished. So yes, in between fragmentation, which includes conversion to crop land, and plague, they will go extinct. [/quote]

The current pdog population in the US is very stable, sure the numbers are not what they use to be before the west was settled but times have changed and you have to accept that fact. There just is not the number of acres of grasslands there once was and there never will be.

No doubt the plague will wipe out an entire town but they always come back. I have personally seen a town get wiped out by plague twice in my lifetime and both times they rebounded.
Anytime a species of wildlife becomes over populated mother nature has a way of taking care of things.

In all your "research" have you found a town of pdogs that didn't come back after the plague?

I didn't say that fragmentation wasn't the cause of decline I just said I think future fragmentation will be a small factor. Meaning the damage is already done and future damage is unlikely. Many states have sodbuster laws in place now. Plus the aquifer is the main deciding factor in future fragmentation and its in such decline that its going to limit it.

We poison each year on our ranch and have them all killed out by spring. Each year by fall they have came back to the same number if not more. They are a very resilient critter.

Have you ever been to Boulder, CO? There is a perfect example of pdogs adapting to fragmentation and thriving.

Sooooooo....which way is this going?

I hate it when I have one pokin out.

I hope they don't ever disappear also cause I want one mounted like this.

WINNNNNNNNNERRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!

I stand by my original statement.

Guess I'm going to have to read all nine pages to see what all the hullabaloo is about prairie dogs.

No you don't. Time you won't get back ever again.

Starting on a new book. Think I'll title it -

"How to raise Prairie Dogs for Fun & Profit"

Dadgummit. It was entertaining....entertaining.

I think I'll go shoot some just to see what all the fuss is about.

You bait them with a grass pile hidden around a metal 5g bucket of tannerite...whatever happened to being efficient.

Haha!

I know they 'splode real good when hit with a high velocity frangible projectile!

Nuff said.

Prairie dog towns cross Wyoming and Montana as well as the Dakotas and other states. They area still thriving and CAN'T lose 99% of their native habitat since most of the land up there is federal lands of one type or another. No homes being built, no roads inteferring, nothing but land, land land. Thank goodness Kwood didn't decide to study up on gynecology on the internet and expound his wisdom on us about this subject. Ignorance is not knowing but having the ability to learn. I don't think Kwood wants to be bothered with facts.

There's a bunch on the Jackson elk refuge...them poor elk have to be supplemented with alfalfa wafers..figured those prairie dogs would have it looking like a jungle while those elk are gone to the high country.

Next week folks its save the jack rabbit and punish those that harm them...damn stupid ranchers

No BOBO, it would be to save the fire ant. They bring new soil to the surface and make the grass a lot greener that pokes through their mounds.

Sir, you are right

Bothered with facts, here is a fact for you, you can find the answer in the first few lines

http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/btprairiedog/12month2000/chapter2.htm#2.4.3%20Abundance%97Rangewide

No, it's to save the feral cat because they keep the bird population in check.