black-tailed prairie dog conservation
Richard Reading
Black-tailed prairie dogs have declined by over 98% over the past hundred years primarily because of human activities, including poisoning campaigns, shooting, habitat conversion, and the inadvertent introduction of the sylvatic plague, the wildlife version of bubonic plauge. This drastic decline of prairie dogs threatens not only the species, but an entire ecological system increasingly being referred to as the Prairie Dog Ecosystem. Functioning as ecosystem engineers that alter nutrient, soil, and water cycling, as well as plant and animal diversity, prairie dogs are keystone species whose fate will affect several other species inhabiting the Great Plains. 

We are working on several aspects of the prairie dog conservation challenge, including:

• assessing the role of prairie dogs in influencing reptile and amphibian diversity
• exploring the ecology of prairie dogs in urban settings
• understanding the values and attitudes of natural resource managers, ranchers, and the public
    toward prairie dogs
• clarifying how people's myths (or beliefs) affect values, attitudes, and, ultimately, policies toward  prairie dogs
• evaluating and improving the policy process as it relates to prairie dog conservation and  management

Collaborators include Dr. Tim Clark (NRCC and Yale University), Dr. Kevin Crooks (Colorado State University), Seth Magle (Colorado State University), Dr. Lauren McCain (Southern Plains Land Trust), Dr. Brian Miller (Wind River Foundation), and Bryon Shipley (Denver Zoo).

For further information:
Lamb, B. L., R. P. Reading, and W. F. Andelt. In press (2005). Attitudes and perceptions about prairie dogs. In: Conservation and management of the black-tailed prairie dog. J. Hoogland (Ed.). Island Press, Washington, D.C.

Kotliar, N. B., B. Miller, R. P. Reading, and T. W. Clark. In press (2005). The prairie dog as a keystone species. In: Conservation and management of the black-tailed prairie dog. J. Hoogland (Ed.). Island Press, Washington, D.C.

Reading, R. P., L. McCain, T. W. Clark, and B. J. Miller. 2005. Understanding and Resolving the Black-tailed Prairie Dog Conservation Challenge. Pp. 209-223, in: People and Wildlife: Conflict or Coexistance? R. Woodroffe, S. Thirgood, and A. Rabinowitz (Eds.). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

Reading, R. P., T. W. Clark, L. A. McCain, and B. J. Miller. 2002. Black-tailed prairie dog conservation: A new approach for a 21st century challenge. Endangered Species Update 19: 162-170.

Miller, B. and R. P. Reading. 2002. The black-tailed prairie dog: Threats to survival and a plan for conservation. Wild Earth 12(1): 46-55.

McCain, L. A., R. P. Reading, and B. J. Miller. 2002. Prairie dog gone: Myth, persecution, and preservation of a keystone species. Pp. 230-235, in:Welfare Ranching: The Subsidized Destruction of the American West. M. Wuerthner and G. Wuerthner (eds.). Island Press, Washington, D.C.

Reading, R. P., B. Miller and S. R. Kellert. 1999. Values and attitudes toward prairie dogs. Anthrozoös 12(1):43-52.