The following letter is reposted from Prairie Dog Pals in Albuquerque.
Please take a few moments to contact our city leaders and encourage them to adopt humane, non-lethal wildlife management practices at the Albuquerque Sunport.

Dear friends of the prairie dogs,

The remaining prairie dogs and other wildlife at Sunport International Airport are in desperate need of a voice that only you can give.

Last year, we all were forced to stand by and watch as approximately 14,000 prairie dog burrows were stuffed with poison and then covered over. This action was taken by the City of Albuquerque and its Sunport management in response to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) directive to clear areas of wildlife.  Even worse, Sunport management elected to exceed the FAA requirement by extending the poisoning and shooting of wildlife, including coyotes, across an area covering approximately 2,000 acres. The poison utilized was also the most inhumane toxicant, resulting in slow, excruciating death to the prairie dogs and other residents of their burrows. This practice is continuing into 2011.

By no means do we wish to stand in the way of keeping all airports safe for the traveling public as well as our armed forces. We do, however, seek to establish non-lethal wildlife management alternatives as a viable solution to the brutal poisoning that currently serves as the default means of animal control.

Wildlife management plans for the Sunport are currently being written. Without the participation of citizens, the airport and City will continue to assume that we endorse this approach that leaves no opportunity for biologists to participate in the planning process.

Please contact the mayor and Jessica Dickman, Sunport Operations Manager. Also, please copy your city councilors and ask that non-lethal wildlife control methods be allowed to be put into place at the Sunport. Non-lethal control can be used to develop a permanent solution. The costs are not excessive. Scientific research has shown that prairie dog extermination programs can cause high repopulation rates and burrow expansion. Thus, the costs outweigh short-term benefits. [For your convenience, contact information is listed following this letter.]

It’s important for us to know what actions have been taken. Let us know of your support for this program by blind copying (bcc’ing) any e-mails to: prairiedogpal@yahoo.com to let us know if you have arranged a meeting. It is also crucial to call councilors to arrange meetings to discuss this issue. Each person who makes the effort to contact our local politicians represents to them several hundred other voters who have not.

We thank you in advance for taking time to help develop a solution that protects air traffic safety in a manner that can be held up as a national model of excellence for humane wildlife management.

Sincerely,

Prairie Dog Pals

Albuquerque, NM City government contacts:

Mayor: Richard J. Berry     mayorberry@cabq.gov (505) 768-3000