Editing Prairie dog (section)

==Conservation status==
[[File:Prairie dog and hole.JPG|thumb|A prairie dog and his hole]]
[[Ecology|Ecologists]] consider the prairie dog to be a [[keystone species]]. They are an important prey species, being the primary diet in prairie species such as the [[black-footed ferret]], [[swift fox]], [[golden eagle]], [[red tailed hawk]], [[American badger]], [[coyote]], and [[ferruginous hawk]]. Other species, such as the [[golden-mantled ground squirrel]], [[mountain plover]], and the [[burrowing owl]], also rely on prairie dog burrows for nesting areas. Even grazing species, such as [[plains bison]], [[pronghorn]], and [[mule deer]] have shown a proclivity for grazing on the same land used by prairie dogs.<ref>[http://www.prairiedogcoalition.org/pd-associated-species.php Associated Species] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110163932/http://www.prairiedogcoalition.org/pd-associated-species.php |date=10 November 2013 }}. Prairie Dog Coalition. Retrieved on 2013-01-04.</ref>

Nevertheless, prairie dogs are often identified as [[pest (organism)|pests]] and exterminated from agricultural properties because they are capable of damaging crops, as they clear the immediate area around their burrows of most vegetation.<ref name="slobod1991">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1016/S0003-3472(05)80117-4 | last1=Slobodchikoff |first1=C. N. |first2=Judith |last2=Kiriazis |first3=C. |last3=Fischer |first4=E. |last4=Creef | year = 1991 | title = Semantic information distinguishing individual predators in the alarm calls of Gunnison's prairie dogs | url = http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~cns3/SlobodchikoffSemantics1991.pdf | journal = Animal Behaviour | volume = 42 | issue = 5| pages = 713–719 | s2cid=53174059 }}</ref>

[[File:Black-footed ferret skeleton.jpg|thumb|Skeleton of a black-footed ferret ([[Black-footed ferret|Mustela nigripes]]) with a prairie dog skeleton, articulated to show the [[Predation|predator-prey]] relationship between them. ([[Museum of Osteology]])]]

As a result, prairie dog [[habitat]] has been affected by direct removal by farmers, as well as the more obvious encroachment of urban development, which has greatly reduced their populations. The removal of prairie dogs "causes undesirable spread of brush", the costs of which to livestock range may outweigh the benefits of removal.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/cynoludo.htm | title=Mammals of Texas: Black-tailed Prairie Dog | access-date=18 April 2006 | archive-date=11 November 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111004011/http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/cynoludo.htm | url-status=dead }}</ref> Black-tailed prairie dogs comprise the largest remaining community.<ref>{{cite conference |url=https://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_rm/rm_gtr298.pdf#page=25 |last1=Mulhern |first1=Daniel W. |last2=Knowles |first2=Craig J. |title=Black-tailed prairie dog status and future conservation planning |editor1-last=Uresk |editor1-first=Daniel W. |editor2-last=Schenbeck |editor2-first=Greg L. |editor3-last=O'Rourke |editor3-first=James T. |book-title=Conserving biodiversity on native rangelands: symposium proceedings |date=17 August 1995 |id=Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-GTR-298. |location=Fort Collins, CO |publisher=U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station |pages=19–29 |access-date= 6 January 2017}}</ref> In spite of human encroachment, prairie dogs have adapted, continuing to dig burrows in open areas of [[Western United States|western]] cities.<ref>{{cite web|title=Public, mayor react to prairie dog poisoning at Elmer Thomas Park|url=http://www.kswo.com/Global/story.asp?S=6165243|publisher=KSWO Lawton|access-date=25 March 2012|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143934/http://www.kswo.com/Global/story.asp?S=6165243|url-status=dead}}</ref>

One common concern, which led to the widespread extermination of prairie dog colonies, was that their digging activities could injure horses<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kansasheritage.org/kssights/home/diary.htm |title=The Diary of Virginia D. (Jones-Harlan) Barr b. 1866 |publisher=Kansasheritage.org |date=22 May 1940 |access-date=9 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131200111/http://www.kansasheritage.org/kssights/home/diary.htm |archive-date=31 January 2009 }}</ref> by fracturing their limbs. According to writer Fred Durso Jr., of ''E Magazine'', though, "after years of asking ranchers this question, we have found not one example."<ref>{{cite journal|title=Open Season on "Varmints" For Saving Endangered Prairie Dogs, It's the Eleventh Hour|last1=Motavalli |first1=Jim |last2=Durso | first2=Fred Jr. |journal=E–The Environmental Magazine|date=2 July 2004 |volume=15|issue= 4 |url=https://emagazine.com/open-season-on-varmints/}}</ref>
Another concern is their susceptibility to [[Bubonic plague]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.desertusa.com/dec96/du_pdogs.html |title=Prairie Dogs  |publisher=DesertUSA |access-date=9 February 2009}}</ref>
{{as of| July 2016}} the [[U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]] plans to distribute an oral vaccine it had developed by unmanned aircraft or drones.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.fws.gov/uploadedFiles/UAS_2016_EA_final.pdf | title=Use of Unmanned Aerial Systems to Deliver Prairie Dog Sylvatic Plague Vaccination | publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | work=Environmental Assessment | date=31 March 2016 | access-date=18 July 2016 | first1=Matthew |last1=McCollister |first2=Randy|last2= Matchett | page=9}}</ref>