This has been playing on the mammal list for a couple of days and I thought that the ecologgers would like to see this as well. PLEASE pick up the phone and start calling the people/courthouses mentioned below! PLEASE email the people mentioned below! Let's stop the slaughter of this important ecosystem critter!
Best regards, Brian -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: Prairie dogs and bf ferrets Date: Mon, 04 Dec 2006 14:12:59 -0500 From: CKennedy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: Mammalian Biology <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Defenders sent the following alert out on this subject. FROM: Defenders of Wildlife Kansas: Don't Let Them Destroy Or Prairie! Logan County, Kansas has it in for prairie wildlife and the ranchers who want to protect it. Last week, Logan County Commissioners put ranchers like Larry and Betty Haverfield on notice to remove their cattle from the land they own and lease -- and destroy the largest prairie dog town in Kansas. If they don't comply, the County will forcefully do it for them -- and foot them with the $200,000 bill! The slaughter is scheduled to begin Wednesday, December 6th. Prairie dogs play an important role in the health and balance of the American plains. Hawks, burrowing owls, swift fox and other wildlife depend on prairie dogs for burrows to live in and as a source of food. Ranchers like the Haverfields understand the importance of the prairie dog to the health of the grasslands. That's why they are using ranching techniques that mimic grazing patterns of bison that were once part of this uniquely American landscape. They have also volunteered their land to reintroduce the highly endangered black-footed ferret -- once thought to be extinct. But if the Logan County Commission gets its way, the prairie dogs, the health of Kansas's grasslands and wildlife-friendly ranchers like the Haverfields will be in jeopardy. Take action now! Contact Logan County Commissioners and tell them not to destroy Kansas's largest prairie dog town. Logan County courthouse: (785) 672-4244 County Clerk Pat Schippers: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <BLOCKED::mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Commissioner Carl Uhrich: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <BLOCKED::mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Commissioner Doug Mackley: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <BLOCKED::mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Commissioner Nick Scott: no email available If you'd like to do more, contact the governor and your state legislators and ask them to revoke the archaic Kansas law used to force landowners to poison prairie dogs. Governor Kathleen Sebelius: (1-877-579-6757) http://www.governor.ks.gov/comments/comment.htm <BLOCKED::http://www.governor.ks.gov/comments/comment.htm> Find your Kansas state legislator: http://www.kslegislature.org/legsrv-legisportal/redistricting.do <BLOCKED::http://www.kslegislature.org/legsrv-legisportal/redistricting.do> Learn more about this story at the Hays Daily News website: http://online.hdnews.net/content/news/pdogs113006.shtml <BLOCKED::http://online.hdnews.net/content/news/pdogs113006.shtml> As always, thanks for all you do to protect our precious wildlife and the places they live. Sincerely, Jonathan Proctor Southern Rockies/Great Plains Representative Defenders of Wildlife Jonathan Proctor, Southern Rockies/Great Plains Representative Defenders of Wildlife 1425 Market Street, Suite 225, Denver, CO 80202 Phone: 303.825.0918; Fax: 303.825.0594 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <BLOCKED::mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Mammalian Biology [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ali Sheehey Sent: Saturday, December 02, 2006 8:38 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Prairie dogs and bf ferrets See Audubon of Kansas for some background information and more links. http://www.audubonofkansas.org/prairiedogs.php Alison Sheehey P.O. Box 153 Weldon, CA 93283 760-378-2029 ***************************** http://natureali.org <http://natureali.org/> - "Sharing the magic of central California's biodiversity with the world." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Mammalian Biology [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Alicia Linzey Sent: Saturday, December 02, 2006 5:00 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Prairie dogs and bf ferrets For anyone interested in commenting on this situation, email addresses for two of three three Logan County commissioners can be found on the following website: http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/county.cfm&id=20109 <http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/county.cfm&id=20109>. ____________________ Alicia V. Linzey 148 Double Brook Dr. Weaverville, NC 28787 ----- Original Message ----- From: Jerry Choate <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, December 02, 2006 4:20 PM Subject: Prairie dogs and bf ferrets Colleagues: We in Kansas need your help. There is an ancient (I think it was pre-1910) law in Kansas that permits counties to poison prairie dogs on private land and send the bill to the landowner. The landowner has no say about this. It is part of the agriculture establishment's program to completely eliminate prairie dogs. The owners of several large ranches in western Kansas are pro-prairie dogs and wildlife in general, and they have been in negotiations with federal officials to turn black-footed ferrets lose in their prairie dog towns. To avoid conflicts with adjacent landowners who do not feel the same way about p-dogs, the enlightened landowners have gone to great lengths and some expense to ensure that few of their dogs move onto adjacent ranches. Nevertheless, Logan County officials have contracted with p-dog killers to come in and poison all the dogs at the landowners' expense. The cost for just one of the ranches may be as much as $200,000. Logan County officials are paranoid that, if ferrets are released in the area, landowners' property rights will be taken from them under the provisions of the Endangered Species Act. Therefore, they are taking property rights away from landowners who are sympathetic with efforts to preserve this endangered species and who promote good wildlife practices on their ranches. Unless a court injunction prevents the poisoning from taking place, it may happen within two weeks. We desperately need emails to the editors of newspapers in Kansas, emails to Kansas political officials, and especially emails to Logan County officials to stop the scheduled slaughter of thousands of prairie dogs. Time is short, so act now. Use the internet to get email addresses. Share those email addresses with others who might be of help. Thanks for your help. Jerry -- L. Brian Patrick Ph.D. candidate Department of Biological Sciences Kent State University Kent, OH 44242 USA e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
