The Utah prairie dog is one of 15 endangered species across the United States that a national environmental group hopes to save from the brink of extinction.
Environmental Defense, a conservation group based in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday launched its "Back from the Brink" campaign designed to work with private landowners to restore habitat for such endangered species as the Houston toad in Texas, the California red-legged frog and the southwestern willow flycatcher, scattered in portions of California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and possibly Texas.
"Most species cannot be recovered simply by stopping destructive activity," said Michael Bean, co-director of the Environmental Defense's Center for Conservation Incentives.
"Their habitat needs to be restored by the people who own it. The good news is that this kind of restoration is already happening. Our approach has worked everywhere we've tried it, and the easier we make it for landowners to participate, the faster real progress toward recovery will be made."
In Utah, conservationists plan to provide financial incentives to landowners who improve the habitat for the prairie dogs — a burrowing rodent, which is a source of food for golden eagles. For instance, farmers who opt not to graze a 100-acre pasture could earn $1,000 for one grazing season. There's also a $10,000 incentive to landowners who reseed native grasses on more than 60 acres of rangelands.
The prairie dog, once considered a rodent that wreaked havoc on farms, became the victim of widespread poisoning. Once that animal was listed as an endangered species under the 31-year-old Endangered Species Act, the poisoning became illegal. But urban sprawl now threatens the prairie dog's prospects for recovery. Currently, there are roughly 5,000 of them.
"We aim to keep the Utah prairie dog as an important part of the biological diversity of both private and public land in the Beehive State," says the group's mission statement, listed on its Web site at: www.backfromthebrink.org.
The species were selected for the program based on their reliance on private lands, since they would benefit most from landowners participating in the incentive-based programs, which are aimed at making significant progress toward recovery in the next 10 years.
It works, says conservationists who are celebrating the comeback of America's revered bald eagle, which has gone from fewer than 500 breeding pairs in the U.S. to more than 7,600. Environmental Defense is urging President Bush to provide a target date to remove the species from the endangered and threatened list.
"The recovery of the bald eagle is proof positive of America's conservation and restoration efforts," said Fred Krupp, Environmental Defense's president. "It is time to celebrate the comeback of our national symbol, declare victory for this treasured animal and set America's sights on other species that can be put on the road to recovery."
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