Thursday, June 21, 2007

saving an ecosystem!!
https://secure2.convio.net/dow/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=749&autologin=true&s_einterest=C3C4&s_Affiliate=act_&JServSessionIdr010=nz1fkkiyo2.app24a

(heres what i wrote)

I'll say it outright. This proposed plan amendment is a bad idea. Killing prairie dogs will rip the bottom level right out from under multiple ecological pyramids, thus destroying many food webs.

Prairie dogs are the bottom rung on many trophic ladders. Killing off so many of them will result is the possible extinction of endangered species such as the recently reintroduced swift fox and black-foot ferret. These species, as well as many birds of prey, snakes and larger mammals, depend on prairie dogs as a primary food source. Prairie dog burrows also provide homes for burrowing owls, salamanders and the aforementioned black-foot ferret. Their tunnels channel rainwater to help reduce runoff and prevent erosion.

Many ecologists consider the prairie dog to be a keystone species, which is to say that they support the grassland ecosystem immensely. For this and the above reasons, I urge you to consider your actions carefully before making them. Killing an infestation on private land is one thing, but there are much better uses for our tax dollars than killing off prairie dogs.

(now keep going for the link)

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: "Rodger Schlickeisen, Defenders of Wildlife"
To: metalhead_otaku@yahoo.com
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2007 12:21:49 PM
Subject: Stop the prairie dog poisonings!

If you can not read this message for any reason, you can view it online now...

Dog-Gone Prairie?
Prairie Dog, (c) Dave Showalter

Black-footed ferret, FWS/NCTCPrairie dogs play an important role in the American plains. Several creatures depend on these burrowing animals for their livelihood -- including the endangered black-footed ferret.

Tell the Forest Service to stop the prairie dog massacre -- before it starts.

Take Action red

Please forward this message on to friends and family who care about wildlife.
Dear Josh,

Prairie dogs are an important part of ecosystems on the American Plains. So why is the U.S. government trying to use your tax dollars to kill them?

Tell the Forest Service to stop the prairie dog massacre, before it starts.

Last fall, more than 35,000 activists like you sent comments asking the Forest Service to stop the massacre of tens of thousands of prairie dogs on our National Grasslands.

Prairie dogs provide food for eagles, hawks, badgers, swift fox, endangered black-footed ferrets and other Great Plains predators. Prairie dog burrows provide shelter for burrowing owls, salamanders, black-footed ferrets and many other creatures.

But the Forest Service wants to use your tax dollars to poison and kill tens of thousands of these furry critters and destroy the vital habitat prairie dogs create in our National Grasslands.

Take action now -- write the Forest Service and urge them to stop the prairie dog massacre.

Tens of thousands of prairie dogs could be poisoned and killed -- but it’s not only these tunneling critters that stand to suffer. Because so many other creatures depend on prairie dogs for survival -- from burrowing owls to badgers, swift foxes to snakes -- the entire grassland ecosystem is at risk.

Help stop the Forest Service plan to poison and kill tens of thousands of prairie dogs. Help protect the balance of life on the American Plains.

After a similar rule change in 2005 allowed poisoning in National Grassland areas bordering private land, more than 70,000 prairie dogs were killed. Poisoning now occurs each year in these areas near private land, killing thousands of prairie dogs annually.

Now, the Forest Service is proposing to make it easier to poison and kill prairie dogs anywhere on three public grasslands. They’re even targeting an area in South Dakota’s Buffalo Gap National Grassland called Conata Basin -- key habitat for the recently reintroduced swift fox and our nation’s most important recovery area for the endangered black-footed ferret.

Don’t let this dangerous proposal see the light of day -- write the Forest Service now!

Thank you for all you do to protect our wildlife and wild places.

Rodger Schlickeisen, President (c)Daniel J. Cox/www.naturalexpos Sincerely,
Rodger Schlickeisen, President Signature
Rodger Schlickeisen
President
Defenders of Wildlife

P.S. Thanks in part to the help of thousands of Defenders activists like you, this issue has received significant news coverage. You can read about it the Washington Post and the June issue of National Geographic.
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