The City of Boulder is considering lethal control of 30,000 prairie dogs on agricultural land after the city has followed a no-kill policy for decades.  

1. The City of Boulder's Urban Wildlife Plan Prairie Dog Component identifies urban colonies for near-term and long-term protection.  This plan includes all of the prairie dogs on city owned agricultural properties originally scheduled for relocation to the city owned Prairie Dog Conservation Areas/Grasslands.

2. In 2016, the citizens of Boulder and City Council came into conflict over the threatened killing of prairie dogs located within the City of Boulder.  After community expressed outrage, the colony was successfully relocated onto one of the Prairie Dog Habitat Conservation Areas previously set aside by the city.
3. In addition, the Council created the Prairie Dog Working Group (PDWG) to recommend ways to conserve prairie dogs and avoid conflicts about prairie dogs on city open space in the future.

4. Council approved PDWG’s comprehensive non-lethal recommendations in 2019.

5. In 2019, private lessees on two open space irrigated agricultural properties (all purchased with taxpayer dollars) complained to the Open Space Board of Trustees (OSBT) about high prairie dog populations impacting their productivity (which the taxpayer dollars are subsidizing through ridiculously low lease rates). The remainder of the irrigated agricultural lands under lease have both minimal prairie dog populations and conflicts.·
6. OSBT responded by directing staff to expedite the draft plan at issue, which focuses on killing ALL 30,000 prairie dogs occupying ALL 1000 acres of irrigated agricultural lands on city open space (e.g., not just the initial 2 conflict areas). 

7. Most OSBT members are currently openly supporting the killing of 30,000 prairie dogs on open space lands, by carbon monoxide poisoning in the burrows.

8. These decisions are being made in haste, without implementation of the council-approved PDWG non-lethal recommendations that were created specifically to handle these kinds of conflicts and which would effectively, economically and realistically reduce conflicts on irrigated agricultural lands where prairie dog numbers are high.
9. Keep Boulder Wild (KBW), a consortium of Boulder citizens and conservation groups, is opposed to changing the policy, especially when the City has not yet implemented non-lethal recommendations from the PDWG.
10.  PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION and help convince Boulder City Council and the Open Space Board of Trustees to stay the course and relocate these prairie dogs as originally planned.  KBW has the time, equipment and personnel ready to begin relocating all of the prairie dogs within the conflict areas on these agricultural properties.  Relocation to Open Space Prairie Dog Habitat Conservation Areas is the best solution and the original solution for all parties involved!