Prairie dogs, C.O.D.

Dear Editor,

In the June 9 Gazette, Lauren Nolfo Clements of the Humane Society of the United States urged Red Willow County to relocate prairie dogs rather than control them.

I will be happy to ship a breeding pair to her Washington, D.C. office. It's clear that she has only academic knowledge of prairie dogs.

Nolfo Clements was recently hired by the Humane Society of the U.S. as a wildlife specialist. This organization, it should be noted, is an activist animal rights group and has little in common with local humane societies that promote spaying and neutering and work to return lost pets to their owners.

Nolfo Clements says prairie dogs prefer areas that have been overgrazed by livestock or other grazers. She doesn't seem to understand that it is the prairie dogs themselves who clip the grass short to improve their sightlines. Nor does she understand that prairie dog holes are a danger to cattle.

She cites unnamed research that shows poisoning prairie dogs is neither economically viable nor effective. Prairie dog controls are expensive, but not using them is what makes land unviable economically. Relocating large colonies of prairie dogs, assuming you could find some place to put them, would be many times more expensive.

She says prairie dogs are a food source for other animals but it should be noted that they are a very, very plentiful food source. That breeding pair I want to send her will quickly multiply exponentially.

She chastises those who believe in controlling the prairie dog population for being intolerant and unwilling to coexist with nature. But she's on record saying that the easiest way to alleviate wildlife problems is by human behavior modification.

To me, that view doesn't show much tolerance or understanding for the economic realities that ranchers must deal with. Think I'll ship those prairie dogs C.O.D.!

Sincerely,

Kati Ladenburger

Nebraska Farm Bureau Young Farmers and

Ranchers Committee

Stratton