Prairie dog advocates sound alarm over projects

City maintains hibernating rodents in Frenchy's Field aren't at risk

Tom Sharpe | The New Mexican

3/12/2008 - 3/13/08

Prairie dogs are emerging from hibernation around Santa Fe, but advocates for protecting the rodents say two recent projects might have suffocated some in their burrows.

The first case involves trenching for a new irrigation system at Frenchy's Field on Agua Fría Street.

Melinda Ewell of People for Native Ecosystems, which lobbies for prairie-dog preservation, says trenching collapses the tunnels, cutting off oxygen to prairie dogs that are still hibernating.

Ewell recently contacted city Parks Director Fabian Chavez to ask that work be halted until the end of the month when all of the animals will have emerged from hibernation and will no longer be as vulnerable.

But Chavez said this week that he sees no reason to stop the work by the city's contractor, Sequoia Landscaping of Albuquerque.

He said wildlife biologists assure him the hibernation chambers are 3 to 5 feet below the surface — deeper than the trenching. If the trenching collapses one tunnel to the surface, he said, the animals could get enough oxygen from other openings or quickly reopen another hole.

"If we were to plug one of those or cut through one of them with a trenching machine, they will just redivert," Chavez said. "Within seconds, those animals will start moving in (to) create another exit hole. ...

"It's not like were cutting off air to the prairie dogs. They're very adaptable to hibernation conditions where there's very low oxygen levels."

Paula Martin of Prairie Ecosystems, a Colorado company that relocates prairie dogs, disagreed and said she had seen whole colonies wiped out because of work on the surface that sealed off their burrows during hibernation.

Hal Espen, who has been feeding the prairie dogs in Frenchy's Field for three years, said he's not convinced the trenching will harm the prairie dogs. He said he's more concerned about driving trucks and heavy equipment over the burrows and keeping the area closed off so no one can feed the animals as they emerge from hibernation. The former editor of Outside magazine said Frenchy's Field lacks enough vegetation to sustain its colony of 50 to 100 animals.

"I just was not seeing a particularly reassuring level of care for the wildlife population that's there," he said. "I really appreciate what the mayor and the city has been doing in terms of making it city policy to really try to preserve, relocate and otherwise be responsible for this population. But what I was seeing at Frenchy's today really has me worried."

Ewell also contacted the city recently about a film crew grading a vacant lot north of DeVargas Middle School so they could park equipment for Beer for My Horses. Work stopped after city compliance officer John Griego notified the crew that a city ordinance requires "humane relocation" of prairie dogs from construction sites.

David Foster, the location manager for the movie starring musicians Willie Nelson, Toby Keith and Ted Nugent, said he parked the equipment at DeVargas Middle School after Griego explained the situation. Foster said he hopes the grading didn't kill any hibernating prairie dogs.

"Now we've got those poor little fellows under the ground," he said. "I'm hoping they can dig themselves out."

Contact Tom Sharpe at 986-3080 or tsharpe@sfnewmexican.com.