City Council Minutes 2000 09 19 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Louisville City Council Meeting September 19, 2000 Page 22. requires a larger relocation site. Davidson asked Stone how large the relocation site would need to be. Stone estimated 50-100 acres would accommodate all the animals on Via Appia, and provide a 5-year window into the future, as the colony would expand naturally. Mayer stated that, from his recollection, there have been three attempts to remove the colony at Via Appia. He stated that the first attempt was an eradication of 80% of the population, which quickly repopulated itself. The second attempt was the following year and proved unsuccessful. In the third attempt, the City contracted with Wild Places, who assured the City that all the prairie dogs could be removed, which later turned out to be false. He asked Steve Baysinger, Director of Parks and Recreation, if Wild Places simply ran out of places to relocate the prairie dogs. Director of Parks and Recreation Baysinger, stated that a combination of things happened in March, April and May. He noted that licenses and permits were issued but unless there is a follow-up trapping with eradication, you cannot continue to trap during those months. He stated that he understood that Wild Places was at the point where they were not realizing many prairie dogs trapped for relocation and that the prairie dogs were not going into the traps. Mayer summarized that trapping and flushing got as many prairie dogs as could be trapped. Baysinger concurred. Mayer asked Dr. Stone for the definition of the term forb, which was used in the reports' vegetation table. Dr. Stone stated that the typical prairie dog habitat is grass dominated, however when the colony is surrounded by uninhabitable land, it expands as much as possible, consuming most of the grass species, and in effect, the colony eats itself out of house and home. Stone noted that in the case of Via Appia, a plant called bindweed is the dominant ground cover. Stone explained that forb refers to a broad leaf plant and not grass. Mayer reviewed the contents of the report's table and stated that there might be some options. Mayer referred to the area as an urban petting zoo and noted there is no longer a natural environment. He stated that the City has tried to reduce the population many times to no avail. Stone responded that past efforts have been unsuccessful because to relocate a colony as a permanent solution, you must make sure that every single prairie dog is collected and ensure that no other prairie dogs migrate into the colony. Stone stated that one possible option is to periodically decrease the density by removing a number of the prairie dogs and allowing the vegetation to recover. Mayer stated that it is important to preserve areas for wildlife, but noted that the Via Appia Fire Station colony is not a suitable sited Dr. Stone concurred that the Via Appia colony is not the best example of a natural environment for a prairie dog colony because 22