Boulder Open Space details 2024 prairie dog program: removals, barrier pilot, plague vaccine and monitoring

Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) staff on Wednesday summarized 2024 work on prairie dog management across the city—s holdings, describing expanded colony acreage, a new neighbor-facing barrier cost-share pilot, ongoing relocations to Pueblo, plague vaccination, and plans to continue both lethal control on irrigated agricultural fields and restoration work.

Tori, an OSMP wildlife staff member, said the agency received 30 applications during a two-week open application period for a pilot barrier cost-share program that has $75,000 earmarked for initial awards. "We have 75,000 in funds for this initial pilot program," Tori said, adding the program will pay 50% of barrier costs using a flat fee of $12.88 per lineal foot as the basis for awards.

The pilot is intended to reduce conflict between prairie dogs and private neighbors by subsidizing barriers such as chicken-wire aprons. Tori described the program as a multiyear pilot that will be evaluated using applicant scoring criteria and public feedback; staff expect to announce awards in early 2025. She said applicants may propose alternate materials but OSMP will not increase its contribution for higher-cost materials.

Eric Fairley, an OSMP staff member who leads irrigated-agriculture conflict work, described the agency—s expanded removal program and the restoration work that typically follows removals. He said OSMP removed prairie dogs from roughly 296 acres in 2024 using a combination of contractor and staff effort and expects to target about 250—200 acres in 2025, with a planning range of roughly 250—300 acres if weather and contracts permit. The department plans to add another perk machine to increase capacity; Fairley said the agency expects to operate "2 and a half" perk machines on average by assigning two full-time crews and using a third as available.

Relocations this year included trapping 85 prairie dogs from a 17-acre portion of the Teller South/Anderson property and transporting animals to the Pueblo Chemical Depot, Fairley and Tori said. Pueblo Chemical Depot, which is managed by the U.S. Department of Defense, has been receiving prairie dogs to bolster populations used in black-footed ferret reintroduction efforts; staff noted the depot released 35 ferrets last year and released 25 ferrets this year.

Plague management remains part of OSMP—s approach. Tori said OSMP follows its 2021 plague management plan and distributes sylvatic plague vaccine in a peanut-butter bait matrix purchased from vendors and manufactured into baits by Colorado Parks and Wildlife in Fort Collins. "We distribute the baits in two rounds" as an initial inoculation and a booster, she said, and noted that OSMP applies roughly 50 baits per acre in targeted locations based on CPW guidance.

Monitoring results presented by Tori showed systemwide expansion: OSMP mapped about 5,510 occupied acres this fall, a 17.6% increase over the prior year, and documented 22 active colonies (up 11 from 2023). She said some of the acreage increases reflect the agency—s pre-removal mapping cadence and might not account for removals that occurred after mapping.

Agency staff described how management designations affect responses: grassland preserves and prairie-dog-conservation areas are managed to maintain prairie dogs, while transition and removal areas are where the department prioritizes reduction, especially on irrigated agricultural parcels leased for farming. Fairley said his team prioritizes irrigated agricultural land for removal because those fields represent the best opportunity to restore agricultural production and soil health.

Restoration on removed irrigated properties includes rebuilding irrigation gates and ditches, replacing fences and culverts, soil amendments and seeding, and noxious-weed control. Fairley said restoration and infrastructure work can be costly and time-consuming; OSMP reported approximately $500,000 in project expenditures in 2024 tied to removal, restoration, contracted PERC/perk work and infrastructure, with staff saying total prairie-dog-program expenditures in 2024 were roughly $495,000 to $690,000 depending on the accounting boundaries cited (staff costs were not included in the $495,000 figure presented). OSMP staff said they will continue to track and report the program—s fiscal needs as plans develop.

Staff described operational and policy limits. Fairley reiterated that a city-level moratorium restricts lethal control during a seasonal window in spring (March—May), consistent with the city—s urban wildlife protection ordinance; he said the county has different rules. Tori also explained that some relocations require identifying receiving sites; OSMP no longer has available receiving capacity on its own land and will rely on partners such as Pueblo Chemical Depot, which in turn coordinates with the Department of Defense.

Staff highlighted a species-management tradeoff when they explained a decision this year to delay opening the newly constructed Vesper Trail after burrowing owls nested in a burrow adjacent to the trail. Tori said the agency postponed the trail opening to allow the owls to fledge, noting that burrowing owls are state-listed or otherwise of conservation concern in Colorado and are closely tied to prairie dog colonies for nesting habitat.

Staff outlined next steps: OSMP will notify applicants to the barrier pilot directly, solicit feedback on the pilot and on 2025 plans via a posted comment process, present the 2025 plan and public comments to the Open Space Board of Trustees in February, and then provide an information packet to City Council. Tori said the presentation recording and related materials will be posted on the OSMP website and that public comments should be emailed to the OSMP input address for inclusion in final planning.

Discussion versus decision: staff emphasized that most items discussed were programmatic directions, pilot funding approvals and operational plans rather than new ordinances; the $75,000 pilot was presented as an allocated fund for staff to award under program criteria, and staff said continuation beyond the pilot will depend on program evaluation and available funding.

Questions from residents at the meeting ranged from details on barrier placement and material, to requests for timelines on specific properties such as Oasis and Brubaker, to broader questions about coordination with Boulder County. Staff said they maintain a memorandum of understanding with Boulder County for co-owned properties but acknowledged that policy differences between agencies sometimes create management inconsistencies on contiguous properties.

Why it matters: OSMP staff emphasized the practical tradeoffs between conserving prairie dogs as native-grassland species on designated preserves and reducing conflict on irrigated agricultural lands where prairie dogs can prevent productive leasing and require extensive restoration work. The department presented data and operational plans intended to address both goals through a combination of targeted removals, barrier incentives for neighbors, plague protection, and post-removal restoration work.

Staff invited ongoing public input: they asked residents to submit comments and questions to OSMP input email for consideration before finalizing 2025 work and said the Open Space Board of Trustees will review materials at its regularly scheduled February meeting.