Dear Friends of the Prairies,

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝑨𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑻𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚! 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒖𝒆 𝒃𝒚 𝑱𝒖𝒍𝒚 9𝒕𝒉!

Did you know that tens of thousands of prairie dogs are killed each and every year in Colorado? Between land managers, CPW (they poison prairie dogs routinely in our state parks), developers, land owners, and hunters who get off on shooting them, we lose colony after colony consistently in this state.

Prairie dogs are keystone species, and many endangered and critically endangered species depend on them for survival. For example, the black-footed ferret is the most critically endangered mammal in North America and they can not survive without large (as in 10,000 - 25,000 acres minimum), densely populated colonies of prairie dogs. We don't have those numbers anymore. Prairie dog populations are less than 1% of their historic numbers. There is no such thing as healthy short-grass prairies full of diversity without large colonies of prairie dogs.

CPW is now asking for public comments for the species of greatest concern in Colorado. Will they listen to the public when we ask that they protect the prairie dog and ensure that they are a species of greatest concern? We hope so. But at the very least, we need to submit comments to ensure they are aware that many people care about this species and want them protected.

You can submit a short comment, or make it as long as you would like to, but please chime in here! Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on "complete form" and register to submit comments. We need to be as active as we can with CPW now that we have friendly commission members. 

Write a clear message that prairie dogs are keystone species must be considered a top priority for species conservation and that we must stop poisoning them if we care about the health of our grasslands and the planet. You can say a few sentences or as much as you would like, but please let them know that you understand the vital role this keystone species contributes to grassland communities.

We owe our deepest gratitude to ALL of you who helped us get signatures and supported Cats Aren't Trophies to get this very important initiative on the ballot! In order to get our initiative to ban fur trapping of bobcats and trophy hunting of mountain lions the ballot, we need 124,238 verified Colorado voter signatures. We submitted 188,000 signatures, the majority of them gathered by volunteers, yesterday and Cats Aren't Trophies issued this excellent press release. We are in GOOD SHAPE!! 

In the coming months, we have a steep road ahead as our job will be to educate the public about this terrible practice that occurs in Colorado. The opposition will come up with all kinds of lies along with their biggest financial supporter, the Safari Club. They try to spin the story and insist that killing mountain lions in this state isn't trophy hunting because Colorado Parks and Wildlife makes sure they harvest the meat. We all know that mountain lions are not killed for their meat, the primary objective is to get photos, heads, and hides. It is time this needless killing is put to an end, and thanks to you, we have a once in a lifetime opportunity to do so.