Laserfiche WebLink
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION <br /> Prairie Dog Town Surveys <br /> Results of the prairie dog town surveys are summarized in Table 1. The location and <br /> areal extent of towns within the study area are plotted on the attached map. A total of <br /> 43 towns or town complexes were located. Generally,most towns were small, with many <br /> (13)comprising an acre or less in size. Only seven towns were greater than 10 acres, <br /> with the largest totaling 45 acres. Estimates of burrow densities for towns ranged from <br /> 0 to 158 per acre and from 0 to 36 per acre for active and inactive burrows, <br /> respectively. Total burrow density estimates ranged from 6 to 186 per acre. <br /> For the most part, prairie dog towns occurred in areas that were used by local <br /> ranchers as dryland pasture or hay meadows or had been cultivated in the past but <br /> were left fallow during the season of the survey period. The greatest density of <br /> burrows occurred in dry, upland areas where vegetation cover was sparse. Town <br /> expansion appeared to be limited by adjacent areas actively cultivated and/or flood <br /> irrigated or by areas supporting tall,dense vegetation cover A few towns occurred in <br /> areas of woody vegetation such as big sagebrush (Artemisia trios,atata), but these towns <br /> were typically small and exhibited relatively low burrow densities. <br /> Spotlight Surveys for Black-footed Ferrets <br /> A total of 37 man-hours were expended to spotlight survey prairie dog towns within <br /> the study area. No black-footed ferrets or sign indicating their presence was observed <br /> during the spotlight surveys. A variety of other wildlife observations were made <br /> during the spotlight surveys and are summarized in Table 2. Specifics regarding <br /> survey times and conditions are contained on the data sheet in Appendix A. <br /> 7 <br />