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Prairie Dog Management on Irrigated Properties in the Northern TierFrom:Suzanne Webel To:OSBT-Web Subject:Prairie Dog Management on Irrigated Properties in the Northern Tier Date:Friday, July 7, 2023 2:58:57 PM External Sender Greetings, OSBT and Staff: As some of you know, for almost 30 years I have been farming about 80 acres in the middle of a triangle between Boulder, Longmont, and Lyons. We raise certified weed-free hay and board a few lucky horses. The land was distressed and abandoned when we bought it, so we had to acquire water rights, install fencing, obtain legal access, establish desirable forage, plant over 700 trees, and build a house and barns. The few prairie dogs that were here back then were manageable and our neighbor to the north managed hers successfully as well. She worked tirelessly to irrigate and harvest hay, and raised several generations of cattle. OSMP purchased the land immediately north of ours in 2007. It is now known as the Bennett property. Due to a series of unfortunate management practices since then, it is now a distressed mess of dead trees, overwhelming noxious weeds, and prairie dogs. Please refer to the attached photo essay showing the contrast between Bennett (and Steele) and other properties in the neighborhood, including mine. Over the past two decades, OSMP has acquired many other properties in the Northern Tier. You are now neighbors with farmers who have been here much longer than that, and who have extensive experience coping with the challenging soils, exposure, and prairie dogs. We invested many hours in various OSMP prairie dog management plans for the Northern Tier, including the most recent one which was approved approximately three years ago. Now we find ourselves facing yet another brand new proposal, with which we have many issues. We ask the Board to address these concerns, including: 1. Neighbor Relations. We try to be good neighbors to each other, and those who live next to OSMP properties would like a firm commitment from OSMP to dedicate a significant amount of its resources to being a good neighbor to us. We ask the OSBT to make that commitment and direct staff to do the same. Reach out to us, talk with us, learn from us, and let us solve these problems together. 2. What is Irrigable Land? Because of the open nature of these properties, it is very clear which ones are irrigable. Yet staff seems to have surprising difficulty in this regard. Existence of ditches, headgates, irrigation pipe and more are all proof of irrigability. Just because irrigation may be “difficult” is not a criterion for exclusion. Farming is difficult. OSBT should direct staff to make a long-term commitment to farming and irrigating OSMP properties, with or without a lessee. Alternatively, return them to functional prairie or ranchland – but without prairie dogs. 3. Water Rights. Many irrigable properties in the Northern Project Area are “water-short” – that is, there is not enough water to go around. The original farmers might not have been able to afford enough water and “made do” with less, which was often possible before climate change resulted in hotter, drier, windier seasons. Water rights may have been sold off the land even before OSMP purchased it. Regardless, water rights can be purchased on the open market and reapplied to the land, restoring its agricultural, economic, and ecosystem value. Do not allow staff to transfer or sell the water from “difficult” to “easier” OSMP properties! 4. Soil Data. Without a clear understanding of soil types, staff, the OSBT, and the public will have difficulty determining any valid management strategies. Soils in the Northern Project Area are thin, saline, and clayey – and will need more TLC to be productive than soils elsewhere on OSMP. With poor management, these soils will lose their vegetative cover and will be vulnerable to erosion from wind and water. Good soil management practices, on the other hand, maintain or improve organic matter, holding moisture and enabling a healthy and diverse ecosystem to thrive. 5. Clearing Irrigated Properties of Prairie Dogs. The plan is called “Prairie Dog Management on Irrigated Properties in the Northern Project Area.” It has repeatedly been demonstrated that prairie dogs and irrigated agriculture are incompatible in this part of Boulder County, due to poor soil, lack of water, exposure to wind, etc. The Boulder City Council has determined that irrigated agriculture is a social benefit. There are other places where prairie dogs can thrive and be a valuable part of agriculture and the ecosystem, but the Northern Tier is not that place. At a minimum, please clear the 200 prairie dogs a year in the Northern Tier that you committed to do but have not yet done. 6. Expansion of the Project Area Boundaries, Redesignation of OSMP Properties, Definitions and Purpose of Categories. The plan was presented as “Prairie Dog Management on the Northern Tier Properties” -- but after only three years it now appears that staff wants to expand the boundaries of the plan and create new and arbitrary categories based on how easy or difficult the properties are to manage. We urge the OSBT to NOT allow staff to expand the boundaries or to pursue “easier” properties with lower-hanging fruit outside the management area, because this will dilute the resources needed to fulfill the original plan objectives in the Northern Tier. Stick with the plan! Abandoning prairie dog management on the “difficult” properties by renaming them “prairie dog conservation areas” feels like a bait and switch tactic to many neighbors in the Northern Project Area. The various categories, designations, and definitions are inconsistent throughout the current plan. They need to be cleared up immediately before the plan can be implemented. 7. Barriers. Barriers should be installed along all OSMP properties with prairie dogs – NOT to prevent expelled prairie dogs from “reinfesting OSMP properties” (staff’s stated preference) but to prevent OSMP’s prairie dogs from escaping and infesting neighbors’ properties. This is the very essence of being a good neighbor. Barriers should be paid for and installed by OSMP, not by neighbors (who have had to bear high costs of defending their properties from OSMP’s prairie dogs for many years). 8. PERC / Removal / Relocation. We were heartened to see that staff has finally admitted that relocation is ineffective and cost-prohibitive, yet we all know that relocation will continue for politically-correct reasons. The vast majority of prairie dog management will always consist of lethal control. There are many methods of lethal control. Regardless of method, the sooner it is done the fewer prairie dogs will need to be euthanized. Thank you for your consideration. If you have any additional questions or comments for us, please feel free to contact us. We look forward to working together on this complex issue, and we hope to earn your support. Suzanne Webel Starlight Farm