The national grassland and disappearing biodiversity: can the prairie dog save us from an ecological desert?

• Author: Dolan, Coby C.

1. INTRODUCTION

   The sun, moon and stars would have disappeared long ago had they been within the reach of predatory human hands. --Havelock Ellis In 1492 the American prairie was a thriving ecosystem that encompassed one-third of the North American continent.(1) Buffalo roamed in herds that stretched to the horizon, and the prairie dog lived in "towns" covering over 100 million acres of the Great Plains stretching from Canada to Mexico on the eastern side of the Rockies.(2) Five hundred years of European occupation have taken their toll on the grassland ecosystem. The bison are all but gone from the landscape, and many species may not be far behind. As with other ecosystems invaded by human occupation, we have destroyed much of the original fabric before realizing what we have done. Human understanding of the complexity of some of our ecosystems has progressed greatly in the last fifty years. Yet the subtle nature of certain systems prevents the level of understanding needed to stimulate the public outcry that could stop the destruction. It is hard to see the damage done to the prairies of the American West without paying attention to detail. Like fragile wetlands, once considered annoying swamps that should be drained, the prairies appear to the casual observer to be doing fine--one can still look out and see the rolling grasslands. But gone are many of the original occupants as the plains have been carved up by humans eager to exploit them. Bison were hunted to near extinction and cows replaced them, causing stress upon native grasses, beating streams into washed-out gullies, and displacing many other species from their traditional homes.(3)

   During the last year, the grassland ecosystem has finally, come to the attention of the general public, carried there by its posterchild, the prairie dog. The prairie dog, considered by many an important indicator of prairie ecosystem health, has graced the cover of National Geographic and has been the subject of numerous news stories.(4) In July 1998 the National Wildlife Federation petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to declare the prairie dog a "threatened" species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).(5) These developments may lead to both a better understanding of the overall prairie ecosystem and better management of the ecosystem by federal agencies.

   One opportunity for better management exists with the United States Forest Service (Forest Service). In mid-1997 the Forest Service announced its intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (Grasslands EIS Notice) as part of its effort to update the management plans of three national forests, which encompass eight National Grasslands.(6) These eight public grasslands make up a significant part of the remaining prairie ecosystem, and, therefore, the Forest Service plan may determine the destiny of this once great national treasure. The Grasslands EIS Notice outlines the preparation, over an eighteen-month period, of a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) as required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).(7) This planning process is an excellent time to reflect on past uses of these public lands and to examine the adequacy of present management tools available for preserving what is left of the natural ecosystem, in light of new scientific information about the grassland ecosystem.

   This Comment argues that the prairie dog should emerge as a focal point in discussing the viability of the prairie ecosystem because of its interconnectedness with most of the naturally occurring species of the plains. The prairie dog's role is similar to that of coral in aquatic systems and is just as necessary to the continued survival of many species living on the grasslands.(8) In Part II, this Comment traces the history of the prairie ecosystem and discusses some of the management attitudes and practices employed by the government. Part III discusses the critical role the blacktailed prairie dog plays in the grassland habitat and why it should be considered more than a mere "varmint" whose only use is to be shot at for recreation or exterminated to make way for more livestock grazing.(9)

   The scoping notice for the Grasslands EIS outlines the statutes and regulations to which planners must adhere in preparing the management strategy of the grasslands for at least the next ten years.(10) Part IV of this Comment examines these requirements in a legal context and discusses their limitations as tools for environmental advocates in the court system. Part V discusses factors the Forest Service should consider not only in preparation of the Grasslands EIS, but also in any management plans involving grassland ecosystems. Part VI presents management practices that should be employed to recover native species such as the prairie dog, the ferret, and the bison, using the current system of statutes and regulations and suggesting other tools that can protext and preserve the grassland ecosystem.

2. WHAT ARE THE NATIONAL GRASSLANDS?

   1. Pre-European Ecosystem

      The prairie grasslands have a rich history covering millions of years since the days the dinosaurs roamed the range. When Columbus discovered North America in 1492, the grasslands were comprised of a wide variety of plants and animals but shared the common characteristic of a rolling, grassy landscape.(11) The grasslands covered millions of acres of the American West and at one time formed an uninterrupted prairie almost 2500 miles long and 400 miles wide.(12)

      The animal species of the grasslands adapted to the unique environment of low rain interspersed with periodic droughts, extreme temperature variations, and wildfires.(13) The prairies used to thrive with a wide variety of species ranging from large herbivore mammals (bison, pronghorn, deer, and elk), to small animals (prairie dogs, ground squirrels, and ferrets), to the predators of the plains (coyotes, foxes, hawks, and eagles).(14)

   2. The Taming of the Plains

      Starting as a trickle, and later becoming more akin to a flood, pioneers moved onto the plains and attempted to subdue the wild elements. Through grazing of cattle and sheep, and later through the expanding farmland, the prairie was permanently altered.(15) The federal government contributed greatly to this alteration, embarking on an ambitious effort to settle and tame the west during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Through the Land Act of 1796(16) and then the Homestead Act of 1862,(17) settlers were encouraged to venture westward.(18)

      Under these Acts, the public domain was distributed in many chunks to private owners.(19) As the ecosystem web deteriorated, the great species of the plains lost a connected ecosystem. This made survival difficult for native species.(20) While the decline and disappearance of the bison from the prairie is infamous, the drastic reduction of other endemic species may not be quite as well known. The black-tailed prairie dog (an important indicator species of prairie health)(21) populated over 100 million acres of the Great Plains across eleven states.(22) There were once as many as five billion prairie dogs in the west.(23) Today, traditional prairie dog habitat has been reduced by as much as ninety-nine percent to as few as 700,000 acres.(24)

      Even within the public lands, the range of the prairie dog has been drastically curtailed. For example, in the Fort Pierce and Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, prairie dogs remain only on approximately 10,000 acres of these sprawling 707,000 acres of grasslands.(25) Even though the national grasslands represent 3.1 million acres of potential habitat, they support less than 25,000 acres of prairie dog towns.(26)

      One of the main reasons for the reduction of prairie dog populations, as well as other native species, is the influence of the livestock grazing industry. Ranchers decry the prairie dog as harming profits by reducing the available forage for their cattle.(27) Additionally, ranchers claim that the prairie dog holes create hazards to livestock from stepping in the holes and breaking legs.(28) As discussed in Part V.C, these claims are often not backed up by credible scientific evidence.(29)

      Today there is very little of the North American prairies remaining, and they have been considered to be as threatened as, or more than, tropical forests,(30) For example, almost the entire tallgrass prairie has been destroyed; midgrass prairies have mostly been turned into farms, and the shortgrass prairies are under heavy assault.(31)

      Scientists believe that grassland ecosystems can be resilient when faced with moderate pressure from human activities. However, a concentrated attack, such as we have seen during the last 150 years of American expansion, could destroy the original system forever.(32) Scientists must analyze how the system operates, what impacts are irreparably harming the system, and what steps can be taken to put the grasslands back in good health. The next section examines scientific studies that suggest the prairie dog is a keystone to the natural functions of the prairie ecosystem and may be critical to the survival of many grassland species.

3. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PRAIRIE DOG

   Forest Service regulations for evaluating management options in forest plans require that certain species be selected as "management indicator species." Among other things, these species are valuable as indicators of management effects on other species in the planning area.(33) Certainly, the prairie dog would be a good candidate for management indicator species in the grassland ecosystem.

   Mounting scientific evidence suggests that prairie dogs are integral components of the prairie ecosystem. Prairie dog colonies interact with other species on a grand scale through their habitat alterations, creating new opportunities for foraging and nesting.(34) Research has shown that prairie dogs improve plant diversity and productivity through tilling, aerating, and...