Is chemical control believed to threaten the black-tailed prairie dogs future existence?
Recent range-wide data show little evidence of permanent impacts from chemical control over the past several decades. Recent chemical control efforts have often been less successful than historic efforts for a variety of reasons. These include the fact that years ago these efforts were federally directed and utilized more efficient toxicants. Chemicals available today to poison prairie dogs are less effective than early toxicants that are now banned. However, it is difficult to obtain accurate information regarding the use of toxicants to control black-tailed prairie dogs. Although use of chemical controls may have caused black-tailed prairie dogs to have been extirpated from some specific areas, site specific and range-wide data indicate the species resiliency to the impacts of chemical control. With information available to the Service today, we believe that impacts on the black-tailed prairie dog due to chemical control are not a threat in a significant portion of the species range
