Upcoming prairie dog meeting

The annual Boulder County Parks and Open Space public meeting on prairie dog management will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 17, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Ron Stewart Parks & Open Space Building, 5201 St. Vrain Road, Longmont.

Staff will be available to discuss the variety of activities conducted in 2022 and how the department manages prairie dogs on open space properties, including agricultural lands. Public comment is invited.

No changes are proposed to the Prairie Dog Habitat Element of the Grassland and Shrubland Management Policy.

Some probable meeting topics include:

• The Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) has experienced a “widespread expansion” of prairie dogs to 5,196 acres in 2022. Updates on efforts to protect agriculture and irrigation systems.

• The Marshall Fire’s impact on the prairie dog colonies.

• Updates on Burrowing Owl and Black-Footed Ferret conservation efforts. Burrowing Owl nesting had reached a record low in 2021 and conservationists have made efforts to reintroduce the Black-Footed Ferret to protected grasslands.

• Updates on Prairie Dog Barrier Fencing, methods of exterminating prairie dogs, and methods of relocating prairie dogs.

• Updates, if any, on the Sylvatic Plague Vaccine for prairie dogs.

For more information, contact Resource Planner Jeff Moline at jmoline@bouldercounty.org.