[bouldercouncilhotline] Hotline: Prairie Dog Relocation from Foothills Community Park to Gunbarrel

[kohls at bouldercolorado.gov]

Sender: Brautigam, Jane

Dear Council Members,



On May 16, Councilmember Becker's raised questions for staff related to the Prairie Dog Relocation Project which were then sent via HOTLINE on May 17.  Staff responses to those questions - along with a summary of the project - are provided below for your information.



The city is in the process of implementing its Urban Wildlife Management Plan (UWMP) and Grassland Plan.  Both plans have been accepted by City Council and identify a number of areas, including Foothills Community Park, where prairie dogs are proposed for removal.  The prairie dog component of the UWMP, accepted by council in 2006, identified the Foothills Community Park area for near-term prairie dog removal primarily because prairie dog encroachment has the potential to adversely affect the park's developed assets, like multi-use fields.  Additionally, following the UWMP's guidance, the city is committed to exploring relocation options for prairie dogs prior to the use of lethal control, acknowledging the community's desire to limit the lethal control of animals.



Currently, prairie dogs occupying 39 acres on city parks and open space properties near the Foothills Community Park are proposed for relocation to city open space property north of Lookout Road at North 75th Street (Richardson II property).  Richardson II meets the criteria outlined in the Grassland Plan to serve as a receiving site for prairie dog relocation.  It is a 120-acre site that, prior to 2008, was home to a prairie dog colony that covered 109 acres.  Following a suspected plague outbreak in 2008, the site is now down to a 12- to-13-acre active prairie dog colony.



While the city is hoping to submit its permit request to the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) in June, the relocation effort wouldn't begin until July or August, if approved.  This is due to the time it takes for CDOW to review the permit and the city to finalize plans with the contractor.



Council will receive an IP memo in the June 7 packet with more information on the project.  A copy of this has been provided on the dais for this evenings meeting and has been posted on HOTLINE.



Regards,



Jane





1.  Can we delay the project?



Yes. The city could delay submitting the permit request to CDOW.  However, the city has to plan for about 6 weeks of lag time between permit submittal and when the actual relocation could begin.  Therefore, even though the city is planning to submit the permit request in June, relocation wouldn't occur until late summer (July/August).  Additionally, too much delay in submitting the permit request could push the project into next year because the relocation needs to occur before fall weather prohibits it.



If the project is delayed into the fall when the weather starts to turn, then the city would have to put off relocation until next year.  At which point, the target prairie dog population may have increased and colony expansion could have additional impacts on the parks multi-use fields.



2.  Are prairie dogs that have plague -or could have plague- being moved to this area?



Very unlikely.  The sending site has no known plague at this time and is monitored prior to relocation.  The CDOW requires treatment of any prairie dogs and prairie dog burrows prior to relocation to reduce the possibility of this occurring.    The burrows at the sending site are dusted with deltamethrin dust as required by the State prior to relocation.  This occurs seven days before relocation.  In addition, the prairie dogs are sprayed with pyrethroids directly when captured to ensure that no fleas are transported from the sending site to the receiving site.



The Richardson II site is suspected of experiencing an outbreak of plague in 2008 as the existing prairie dog population there went from 109 acres to several acres around that time.



3. What is the compelling reason to do this now and not wait to either find a different location or to not do it at all?



The prairie dog colony at Foothills has been threatening the multi-use playing fields for many years.  It was identified in 2006 in the Urban Wildlife Master Plan, accepted by council, as a site requiring near-term removal.  The city waited for the completion of the Grassland Plan to identify potential relocation sites.  Waiting for another site is not likely to be productive as the Foothills colony will likely continue to expand, and in the absence of plague, the Richardson II site could become more populated, reducing its availability.



In addition, the Grassland Plan identified a number of colonies on OSMP for removal.  Waiting to relocate from Foothills Community Park would make it less likely that the Grassland Plan could be implemented further as any future relocation site would be needed to receive the Foothills Park prairie dogs.



4. I understand the city delayed it once in order to provide for better public input. Since receiving that input, what has been the city's response and how is it addressing the public input?



The city has collected the concerns and issues brought up by those who oppose the relocation.  Staff is considering these concerns and is developing a mitigation plan to address the issues and provide responses to the issues as best as possible.  The plan should be available by May 24 and posted online.



5. I'm told that the vegetation in the area has really declined, so that there is now significant water run-off concerns. Does this change staff's recommendation to use this area as a relocation site?



No.  Currently, vegetation on the site is extensive.  During the previous large-scale prairie dog occupation, vegetation cover was likely much lower, potentially impacting runoff from the site.  However, retention features are present on the site including berms protecting the neighborhood and retention structures along Lookout Road.  Existing occupancy by prairie dogs on-site makes the relocation of additional prairie dogs unlikely to impact the runoff potential on the site over the long-term in excess of what would be expected through natural expansion of the existing colony.



6. What really is staff's recommendation? I'm told by Gunbarrel residents that they heard in no uncertain terms that this is against the recommendations from OSMP biologists and other wildlife professionals, but that it is a political decision made by city council.



Staff's recommendation, including OSMP biologists, is to remove the prairie dogs from the Foothills Community Park area as was identified in the 2006 Urban Wildlife Management Plan, which was accepted by City Council after several discussions over many years about other mitigation options at the Foothills Community Park.  Staff's recommendation is also to limit lethal control, per the city's own Urban Wildlife Management Plan, by using available receiving sites that have been designated in the city's Grassland Plan.  Richardson II is the only available receiving site that could accommodate the Foothills colony at this time.  Staff's recommendation is to proceed with the relocation recognizing there are issues and more broad community opposition than expected, but also recognizing the continued community support to limit lethal control and the dearth of viable receiving sites.



7. How many prairie dogs are being relocated?



Original estimates of prairie dogs to be relocated were 500.  The final number requested on the permit application is likely to be lower than this due to lower count of animals at the sending site.   Exact numbers will be provided in the final mitigation plan.



8.  Don't the chances of contracting plague increase as the number of prairie dogs increases? Is the number suggested for relocation to Robertson II under this threshold?



There is no threshold that has been found to impact likelihood of plague.  The conditions or mechanisms that cause or trigger plague epidemics are poorly understood despite extensive study.   On OSMP lands, both dense and sparsely populated colonies have experienced die-offs consistent with plague.



The number proposed for relocation is significantly lower than the population that inhabited the property prior to its suspected 2008 plague outbreak.  Approximately 109 acres of prairie dogs inhabited the property in 2007 (prior to the die-off).  Currently, 12-13 acres are occupied and 39 acres are proposed to be relocated to the site.



9. Aren't there safety concern with relocation these pdogs, even if they don't have the plague right now, because it is directly adjacent to residential area and elementary school?



There are no additional safety concerns generated by adding prairie dogs to the site that don't already exist.



The elementary school is over one mile from the receiving site.  Prairie dog colonies both on and off OSMP lands exist in much closer proximity to the same elementary school than the receiving site.  As a result, we do not expect relocation to this site to directly impact the elementary school.



As with any area with prairie dogs, there is human safety concern for exposure to plague from prairie dogs, but it is considered low, particularly without direct contact with burrows or dead animals by people or their pets.  No cases of plague resulting from contact with prairie dogs are known from Boulder, and human cases of plague nation-wide are very rare.



The prairie dog colony is separated from the adjacent neighborhood by an area approximately 130 feet wide, and the entire colony area is fenced separately from public access areas.  OSMP works with Boulder County Public Health to mitigate any concerns over plague at colonies where plague is suspected to be present.  As part of the mitigation plan for the relocation, additional education is planned to inform residents of the steps most likely to protect them from the risk from plague.  The presence of prairie dogs on the property currently makes any relocation unlikely to change the risk from plague as compared to current conditions.







-----Original Message-----
From: Becker, KC
Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2011 9:57 AM
To: HOTLINE
Subject: Prairie Dog Relocation from Foothills Community Park to Gunbarrel.



City Council members:

As you know, we have been receiving many emails regarding the proposed relocation of prairie dogs from Foothills Community Park to the Richardson II property in Gunbarrel.



The City Manager has indicated that she will post a mitigation plan on the city website on May 24th, and that staff will submit a permit request for the relocation to the Colorado Division of Wildlife on June 2nd. She also indicated that an Information Packet will be distributed to us in early June.



I'm concerned that the above timeline for receiving an information packet does not provide us with enough time to evaluate this action. Tonight is our only regular meeting until June (all our other meetings are study sessions). June 7th is our only regular business meeting before recess.



This proposal has created a very strong reaction by hundreds of Gunbarrel residents. Over 800 people have signed a petition opposing the relocation. There might be very good reasons for undertaking this action, but I don't feel like I know enough to have the confidence that it is necessary or in the best interest of everyone affected. Although it is a staff level decision to move the prairie dogs, Council is being held responsible for it, and yet I know so little about it. If our information packet comes too close to or after our June 7th meeting, this gives us little opportunity to evaluate or take action and waiting til then will disrupt the timeline that Open Space is currently working under.



I think that when this many people oppose a city action, it is incumbent on the Council to take a closer look. If nothing else, it will provide everyone a chance to air grievances, get educated, and be prepared the next time. I'm also sympathetic to the complaint that we are taking a city problem and hoisting it onto a neighborhood outside the city who does not have the same political representation or recourse that our own residents do.



I have submitted a list of questions to the City Manager with the hope that answers will be part of the Information they provide to us in early June.  I'm including those here and adding a few more.



I'd like Council to consider a motion that the proposed removal (or permit request to CDOW?) be delayed until Council has more time to understand this proposal.



Thanks,





KC Becker

Boulder City Council Member



List of Questions:





1. Are prairie dogs that have plague -or could have plague- being moved to this area?

2. What is the compelling reason to do this now and not wait to either find a different location or to not do it at all?

3. I understand the city delayed it once in order to provide for better public input. Since receiving that input, what has been the city's response and how is it addressing the public input?

4. I'm told that there vegetation in the area has really declined, so that there is now significant water run-off concerns. Does this change staff's recommendation to use this area as a relocation site?

5. What really is staff's recommendation? I'm told by Gunbarrel residents that they heard in no uncertain terms that this is against the recommendations from OSMP biologists and other wildlife professionals, but that it is a political decision made by city council.

6. How many prairie dogs are being relocated? Don't the chances of contracting plague increase as the number or concentration of prairie dogs increases? Is the number suggested for relocation to Robertson II under this threshold?

7. Aren't there safety concerns with relocation these pdogs, even if they don't have the plague right now, because it is directly adjacent to residential area and elementary school?

8. The City Manager has indicated that they are working to mitigate community concerns. What options exist for mitigation and what exactly are you mitigating for?

9. I believe that the Prairie Dog Coalition has recently expressed to Staff opposition to this removal. Why?