[gadwall]

Monday’s Eagle reported that the Logan Co. commissioners were going to start poisoning the prairie dogs on the private property of Larry Haverfield. The Logan co. commissioners are showing a complete lack of understanding of how the environmental movement operates. Along with a complete lack of respect for the private property rights of Mr. Haverfield.
The commissioners don’t get the fact that they are lighting a match that will cause one heck of an explosion. The environmentalists will use this as a club to force the dept of interior to list the prairie dogs as an endangered species.And god help the contractor if he causes the death of one of the blackfooted ferrets. They will hold this up as an example of the states inability to manage the species for the good of the species. Once they are listed a landowner will have to get permits to do any control and total eradication will not be allowed. Prairie dog shooting will be the first to go due to the public’s view that it is just target practice. Land use will be dependent of the lands suitability for prairie dog restoration. If you doubt this just ask a rancher in Montana or Idaho about the wolf situation. What started as a reintroduction to achieve a goal of 300 wolves before delisting has now turned into a situation where delisting might never occur.