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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 09/17/2024 - Memorandum from Matt Parker re Prairie Dog Management at Prospect/Timberline Road ComplexNatural Areas Department 1745 Hoffman Mill Road PO Box 580, Fort Collins, CO 80522 970-416-2433 mparker@fcgov.com CC: Katie Donahue, NAD Director; Travis Walker, Interim Director, Light and Power; Kendra Boot, City Forester; Mike Calhoon, Parks Director; Amy King, Environmental Sustainability Director MEMORANDUM Date: September 11, 2024 To: Mayor and City Councilmembers Through: Kelly DiMartino, City Manager Tyler Marr, Deputy City Manager Dean Klingner, Community Services Director From: Matt Parker, Ecological Stewardship Manager, Natural Areas Subject: Prairie Dog Management at Prospect/Timberline Road Complex BOTTOM LINE Multiple City departments plan to collaborate on a summer/fall 2024 project to remove most of the prairie dogs from the complex of City properties at Prospect and Timberline roads to reduce threats to public safety and infrastructure. Depending on the specific area, prairie dogs will be lethally managed in burrows, or trapped and donated to the US Fish and Wildlife Services’ Black-footed Ferret Recovery Program. Although prairie dog management is routinely and transparently conducted by multiple City departments, the high visitor use of this complex warrants additional communication to City leadership. Key leadership communications points can be found at the end of this memo. Work on this project will not proceed until clear guidance is provided by the City Manager’s Office. BACKGROUND The Natural Areas Department (NAD) through direction from the Wildlife Conservation Guidelines (2017) provides habitat for prairie dog colonies, manages those colonies to reduce conflicts, and protects and preserves resource values that do not co-exist with colonies. Annually, NAD management actions support roughly 650 acres of prairie dog colonies within the urban landscape, as well as routinely conducting lethal management on approximately 200 acres of colonies to reduce growth and sustain natural resource values not associated with colonies. Staff typically conduct maintenance actions through lethal management as it is seen Docusign Envelope ID: 3825B7C7-F47C-4673-9B44-AE944E20EEAC as the most humane treatment option, producing far less stress than other options such as relocation. Additionally, at the scale of management required, time and cost requirements for trap and donate management exceed staffing and budgeting resources. Although trapping and donating prairie dogs is not typically the preferred management action, it does carry additional conservation values supporting the Black-Footed Ferret Recovery Program. Trapping also makes more sense for colonies that are exceptionally dense as is the case at The Coterie Natural Area. Burrows situated on neighboring properties managed by Parks, Utilities, etc., are less dense and better suited for lethal management. The overall cost for management of this complex is roughly $33,000. Trapping prairie dogs is typically 3-5x more expensive than lethal management through carbon monoxide. If the City were to trap and donate the entirety of the complex, the total cost would increase to roughly $102,000. Trapping and relocating prairie dogs off-site is not currently considered for this project as success rates in the scientific literature suggest survival of 25-50% and therefore generally a less human practice. Lethal management is considered the most human removal management practice. The Prospect/ Timberline Road complex includes 22.5 acres (0.84 of which is private) plus additional acreage in two railroad rights of way. There are at least 1,384 prairie dog burrows in the complex. A recent development is that prairie dogs have now moved to the west side of the Union Pacific tracks, extending as far as the south side of EPIC and are encroaching on multiple restoration projects in the area. The expanding prairie dog colony at this complex severely impacts City and regional investments, presents public safety issues, and is generally not compatible with surrounding land uses. Nine different City departments, as well as Platte River Power Authority, utilize land in this area for a wide variety of purposes. Prairie dogs also occupy an adjacent parcel of private property and staff will work to coordinate prairie dog management on private property, as appropriate. • Platte River Power Authority operates a power sub-station with significant Light & Power infrastructure, • Forestry Division operates a tree nursery, • Parks Department manages a disc golf course and an associated restoration project, • Stormwater manages land for storm outflow, Docusign Envelope ID: 3825B7C7-F47C-4673-9B44-AE944E20EEAC • Sustainability Department operates the recycling center, • Streets Department manages and maintains landscaped streetscapes, • Operations Services manages EPIC and the surrounding landscape, • Recreation manages the visitor use experience at EPIC, • The Natural Areas Department manages “The Coterie” (a term used to denote a prairie dog family unit) Natural Area. Threats to public safety include the potential for prairie dogs to enter the substation and damage electrical infrastructure leading to power outages, as well as the potential for disc golf players to injure themselves stepping into unseen prairie dog burrows. Significant current impacts include damage to well-established shade trees, damage to establishing road-side streetscape trees, undermining of concrete at sidewalks, disc golf pads, and burrows potentially undermining natural gas facilities. Prairie dog management frequently brings emotional public comments to the City Council. Past public outcry has caused NAD to cease prairie dog management activities for significant periods of time resulting in a backlog of necessary work, increased future expenses, and greater long- term vegetation impacts. Restrictions on the Natural Areas Department’s ability to manage prairie dog colonies create increased risk to biological assets that thrive in the absence of prairie dog colonies. The potential for outcry related to management actions at The Coterie to affect a pause of management work at other properties has caused NAD to forego management at The Coterie in favor of continued management at more sensitive ecological sites. However, the impacts to surrounding properties are now of such significance that NAD’s management must move forward. Understanding the highly emotional nature of this project, staff want to ensure alignment prior to acting. PLANNED ACTIONS Implementing a long-term sustainable plan for this complex will require multiple action items based upon specific management objectives in each area, but all action items must be coordinated to successfully implement the project. Action items include: Docusign Envelope ID: 3825B7C7-F47C-4673-9B44-AE944E20EEAC Short Term Management to Address Immediate Concerns: 1) Utilities will implement the fumigation of prairie dog burrows inside and within 100 feet of the Timberline Substation, and in areas associated with storm water conveyance, to protect critical infrastructure. 2) Parks and Forestry will implement fumigation of prairie dog burrows within the footprint of the disc golf course and the tree nursery. 3) Natural Areas will initiate the trapping of prairie dogs within the Coterie Natural Area to drastically reduce prairie dog populations. Some follow-up lethal management is expected, but a small core area of prairie dogs will remain. 4) Natural Areas staff will contact private property owners to the east with the intent to coordinate prairie dog manage on that parcel as well. 5) Post burrow management actions will include restoration and reseeding to rebuild the vegetation system. Long-term Management to Maintain Sustainable Conditions: 1) Natural Areas staff will identify a core area within the Coterie within which prairie dogs can remain. When the colony expands beyond that boundary, NAD staff will quickly remove those animals using lethal management. 2) Natural Areas staff will coordinate with the owner of the adjacent private land to regularly remove prairie dogs from private land. 3) Utilities and Parks staff will regularly manage prairie dog burrows to alleviate infrastructure and public safety risks. COMMUNITY OUTREACH Staff will provide public notification for future management actions through an article in enews (12,000+ subscribers), posts on trail conditions websites, social media posts, and a series of on- site, temporary real estate signs. Real estate signs will succinctly describe management actions aimed at maintaining manageable prairie dog levels at the Coterie. Staff will also work directly with the Prairie Dog Coalition seeking input on management actions. Although the NAD does not typically provide notification of specific site management actions, due to the level of public Docusign Envelope ID: 3825B7C7-F47C-4673-9B44-AE944E20EEAC activity in this area, public notification is warranted. Staff annually review prairie dog management actions with the Land Conservation and Stewardship Board, however prior to taking actions on this specific project, staff will notify LCSB. NEXT STEPS Once staff understand that leadership is aligned with this approach, staff will reach out to the Prairie Dog Coalition to gain insights on management specifics. Public notification will commence in late August, followed by lethal management actions and trap conditioning. Timeline of Planned Actions: Early September Communicate intentions and determine alignment Mid-September Present to Land Conservation and Stewardship Board Mid-September Consult with Prairie Dog Coalition Late September Post real estate sign and social media October - November Conduct management activities, weather permitting KEY LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATION POINTS • Prairie dog conservation at the species level is critical and the City robustly contributes to conservation of the species, however at the site level prairie dogs often require management • NAD supports over 600 acres of urban prairie dog colonies in sustainable locations • NAD’s Wildlife Conservation Guidelines identifies 50 acres as a minimum sustainable prairie dog colony • The Coterie has been managed as an exception to these guidelines • The 2015 Urban Management Plan states that should prairie dogs suffer a plague event, NAD would not re-introduce prairie dogs to the site Docusign Envelope ID: 3825B7C7-F47C-4673-9B44-AE944E20EEAC • Trapping and relocating prairie dogs requires a destination site (NAD does not currently have available sites) and generally produce survivability rates of 25-50% • Regional land and wildlife managers generally deem lethal management the most humane management technique when removal is required • NAD will work with the Prairie Dog Coalition to identify best project outcomes ADDENDA CURRENT MAP OF BURROWS CURRENT CONDITIONS PHOTOGRAPHS ### Docusign Envelope ID: 3825B7C7-F47C-4673-9B44-AE944E20EEAC Burrow adjacent to gas infrastructure and disc golf hole. Prairie dog using drainage tubing around electrical substation as burrow. Burrows impacting established tree roots. Burrow impacting utility infrastructure. Seven of the 1,384 burrows within the complex Burrows present footing hazards throughout the disc golf course. Impacts of Prairie Dog Burrows in the Prospect / Timberline Complex Docusign Envelope ID: 3825B7C7-F47C-4673-9B44-AE944E20EEAC THE COTERIE E Prospect Rd Erin Ct S Timberline Rd Ac a d e m y C t RiversideAve Copyright nearmap 2015 Prairie Dog Burrows - 7/12/2024 The Coterie and Surrounding Area ¯ 0 100 200 300 400 500 Feet Prairie Dog Burrow Parcels The Coterie Natural Area Parks Restoration Area EPIC Burrow behind EPIC Timberline Substation Platte River Power Authority Docusign Envelope ID: 3825B7C7-F47C-4673-9B44-AE944E20EEAC