Syzdekistan

I got this from my good friend Tonya who is a mammologist who worked with the black-footed ferret, one of the most endangered mammals in the world. It sounds like the US Department of Agriculture is back to it’s 19th century way of managing lands and wildlife here in the 21st century. (The USDA manages National Grasslands under the National Forest Service. Remember, to the USDA grass and trees are crops) Anyway, this will be worth checking out.

This CNN program talks about prairie dogs and ferrets and ranchers wanting to poison in Conata Basin [in South Dakota]. And it definitely doesn’t put the Forest Service in the best picture, but its true enough (and a part I strongly dislike). Conata Basin is on the Wall District where I worked from 1999 until 2004. I spotlighted the ferrets many a night in the basin and loved working with the ferrets. The prairie dog/ferret portion of this show starts about 1/2 way through. I’d be happy to hear what you all think if you get to watch it. Makes me mad as a taxpayer for sure!

TELEVISION PROGRAM ALERT!
Prairie Dog Poisoning in Conata Basin to be Featured on CNN
A Forest Service proposal to poison Prairie Dogs in Conata Basin to
receive world-wide coverage.

CNN’s next “Broken Government” special will be dedicated to environmental
issues, including a segment on the Forest Service’s proposal to poison
prairie dogs in Conata Basin, South Dakota.

“Broken Government: Scorched Earth”
will debut

Thursday, Feb. 21st at 9pm MST

Replays are scheduled for

Sat. and Sun. the 23rd and 24th, at 6pm, 9pm, and 12am MST

BE SURE TO CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS AS AIR-TIMES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

We do not know for sure what angle CNN will take, but based on the title
and on the interviewing that Jonathan Proctor of Defenders of
Wildlife witnessed, we believe it will be critical of the Forest Service’s
plans to poison prairie dogs.

CNN interviewed several people on all sides of the issue, including
Undersecretary of Agriculture - Mark Rey, USFS Regional Forester - Rick
Cables, local ranchers, USFWS biologists, Tom Dougherty of National
Wildlife Federation and BCA friend and ally, Jonathan Proctor.

Our hope is that this coverage will cause enough public outcry to convince
the USFS to abandon its plans to poison prairie dogs in Conata Basin and
Thunder Basin National Grassland.