CEDAR CITY, Utah — Spring has sprung, and for many Utahns, that means enjoying the warmer temperatures and getting those gardens ready for planting. But for the Division of Wildlife Resources, spring signals something else entirely — the annual prairie dog count, taking place just 20 miles north of Cedar City.
At first glance, wide-open fields may look like just another stretch of Utah’s vast landscape. But look a little closer, and you might spot signs of life — a colony of over 2,000 prairie dogs making their home beneath the surface.
“So every year we go out to there’s about 1,300 known Utah prairie dog colonies,” said Barbara Sugarman, a recovery biologist for the Division of Wildlife Resources. “And so every year, we try to go out to every single last one of those and count and see if there’s any prairie dogs present. And then if there are prairie dogs present, we count how many there are.”
After the seasonal count is completed, Sugarman and her team will then log that data to produce an ArcGIS field map. Through that, they can get a good picture of the general and prairie dog populations.
The counts, which have been conducted since 1976, track the threatened species across the state to ensure conservation goals are being met. According to Sugarman, prairie dogs are considered ecosystem engineers, meaning other native species depend on their survival.
The division’s conservation program also includes live trapping and relocating the animals from conflict areas to protected public lands. Last year, technicians trapped about 3,000 prairie dogs, a record for the division.
“Last year’s count was 13,909 Utah prairie dogs counted in 2024, and so that is the highest spring count ever recorded,” Sugarman added.
Because prairie dogs are highly susceptible to disease and changes in climate, seasonal counts are conducted to monitor the health and stability of their colonies.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources reported counting 2,000 adult prairie dogs at this southern Utah site last year. Projections for this spring are expected to be just as high.
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