City Poisons Rare Prairie Dogs
By: Ashley Hinson
Updated: June 20, 2012
"I was fairly outraged." "Why did we pay all this money and come all this way when the city doesn't care about its precious resource."
Gena Seaberg is a biologist and prairie dog expert who also organized a trip to
They came to see one of the last known colonies of these black-eyed white prairie dogs in the world.
"There's less of them than white tigers"
But when they arrived on the private property, neighbors told the tourists the city came to exterminate the white prairie dogs just a few days earlier.
"Initially I was fairly outraged because if I owned the property
I would find it a huge violation of my property rights to at least
be given the opportunity or contacted to move them.
Some do remain, but Assistant City Manager Scott Snider disagrees with Seaberg on whether or not they were on private property.
"There is some dispute on whether or not it was on public property. Its our responsibility to take care of the neighbors complain of damaged property."
The city did agree to stop killing and Seaberg is happy they're making progress.
"Hey we do care, and we hoped they heard us...kind of like one of those Dr.Seuss' moments of the Whos in Whoville. Maybe if we shout loud enough that we care, maybe they'll stop and listen."
