I want to take the time and share the attached document with you all. I want to thank the folks who reviewed and provided comments on earlier versions of this document and especially to Emma Balunek, the Humane World prairie dog consultant and conservation storyteller who invested the most time creating the List of Species of Concern Benefitted by Prairie Dog & Black-footed ferret Conservation Efforts.
In preparation of updating the WAFWA Grassland Strategic Plan, a group of us decided to tackle updating the species status table found within the document. It was decided to use past efforts and the most recent updates to the State Wildlife Action Plans to create a table of Species of Greatest Conservation Need to look at the overlap of species within the grassland ecosystem
To update this table using the list of SGCN species that benefit from prairie dog and black-footed ferret conservation efforts, we used the original USFWS list, compared it to Richard P. Reading’s findings in Slobodchikoff et. al. 2009. In 2019, Reading updated this list (unpublished). We took that 2019 update, searched for new literature from 2019-26 on prairie dog ecosystem associated species and referenced each state’s SWAP species. We then took this draft information and shared it with the states for their review and comments.
We found 62 SGCN species with either a strong (unambiguous studies) or some (mix of studies with and without relationship) documented positive association with prairie dog colonies which are the categories that were searched in the state SWAPs. We also searched for more than 200 additional species and classified them as minimal, contradictory (ambiguous data from studies) or negative associations (unambiguous studies saying no relationship); no data and gray area category were also included. If you decide to use this table, please cite it this way:
Recommended citation: Balunek, E., Hughes, J., Jackson, T., McCusker, B., Reading, R., VanPelt, W. and Sterling Krank, L. 2026. State Wildlife Action Plan/Species of Greatest Conservation Need list of species benefitting from prairie dog and black-footed ferret conservation. [Updated from Kotliar et al. 1999, Slobodchikoff 2009 & Reading 2009 & 2019 (unpublished)].
The importance of this list is to demonstrate the ecosystem engineering component the prairie dog fills in the grassland ecosystem and when we talk about grassland conservation prairie dogs have a significant role they fulfill. And to use this document as a tool to showcase the multiple species benefitted when we invest in Black-footed ferret and prairie dog ecosystem conservation efforts. It’s been a great attachment to include in grant proposals and planning efforts!
Thanks much!
Bill Van Pelt & Lindsey Sterling Krank