August 5, 2024 |
Photo – Prairie dogs – Courtesy National Park Service website
Hanna residents are demanding that their cash-strapped town take action to do something about the prairie dog population in town.
During the July 9th Hanna town council meeting, a resident asked what the governing body is going to do to combat the overabundance of prairie dogs in town. Mayor Jayson Nordquist said he isn’t sure the town can afford to do anything about the rodents.
Another resident said foxes are effective at reducing prairie dog populations. The Hanna town council agreed. Mayor Nordquist asked where the foxes have gone.
Attendees of the July 9th town council meeting said no one has seen any foxes around Hanna this year.
Another Hanna resident said badgers have taken up residence in the town’s cemetery. The resident said reducing the local prairie dog and ground squirrel populations will have the added benefit of eliminating the badgers from the graveyard.
The resident suggested contacting Carbon County Weed and Pest to trap the prairie dogs and remove them from town.
Due to the danger of unintentionally harming pets, Mayor Nordquist advised residents against using poison on the prairie dogs. The mayor said residents are not permitted to shoot the rodents, even with air guns.
In the end, the Hanna town council agreed that something needed to be done about the overabundance of prairie dogs in town. However, the governing body did not decide on exactly what to do about the burrowing rodents.
