A Wall Street Journal article published today introduces an issue Southern Utahns have dealt with for 40 years to a national audience. The article documents the trouble some Utahns have experienced ever since the Utah prairie dog landed on the endangered species list. The listing has resulted in many landowners being unable to develop their property. In municipalities such as Parowan, the city is unable to secure and maintain its airport and cemetery without jumping through unending federal regulatory hoops.
The animal's numbers are sufficient for delisting, but most prairie dogs live on private land and therefore don't count toward delisting numbers.
In 40 years the federal government has been unable to make any progress toward relocating a sufficient number to public lands.
