Sylvatic plague which has had an effect on cutting down prairie dog populations is a good management tool for dealing with the pest. That’s according to South Dakota Stock Grower’s Executive Director Silvia Christen who says not only is the plague hitting the rodent but the rodent is moving and needs to be better controlled.
Prairie dogs have moved recently from the southwest part of the state into the Fort Pierre national grasslands as well as the central part of the state. Christen says controlling the critter’s population is key to controlling the sylvatic plague.
Christen says environmentalists want to use the prairie dog as food for the black footed ferret which they want to reintroduce into the Northern Plains. The ferret is currently listed as an endangered species.