Prairie dogs from vacant lot spill over into neighborhood

KCNC

By Olivia Young

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    Colorado (KCNC) — Neighbors in one Colorado community are fed up with a nearby colony of prairie dogs they say are digging their way into their yards.

Prairie dogs are a keystone species and, for years, conservation groups have been sounding the alarm about the destruction of their habitat due to development along on the Front Range. Neighbors say it was about five years ago when the prairie dogs appear to have been pushed by development elsewhere to a vacant lot near their homes. The plot of land is behind a King Soopers and northwest of the intersection of Stroh and South Parker Roads.

Kent Wiens says his neighborhood has gone to the dogs.

“I know they’re cute but they’re pests,” Wiens said.

For years, he says prairie dogs from a vacant lot next door have spilled over into his Ironstone Condos community.

“The end of this grass is our property line,” Wiens said.

Wiens is fed up with the noise, destruction and threat of disease that come with them.

“They dig their holes, they graze the grass down to dirt, they carry disease,” Wiens said.

The community’s HOA maintenance team has spent thousands of dollars and many hours trying to keep the prairie dogs off their property, with no luck.

The head of maintenance says prairie dogs are now burrowing under condos, and they even found one inside a building.

“When I heard that they are inside, ‘huh? Are you kidding me?'” Wiens said.

They’ve tried filling holes and using mothballs, rodent repellent, pepper, vinegar and traps, but nothing keeps the animals away for long.

Nearby homeowner Janet Vasquez is having the same problem.

“There’s just been a ton of them. There’s that big hole over there if you can see,” Vasquez said.

After two years of trying to fill the holes dug by prairie dogs burrowing under her fence and into her yard, she’s given up.

“We had for a little bit but then we just gave up! Because they just kept doing it,” Vasquez said.

Vasquez and the Ironstone HOA say exterminators declined to help because the prairie dog colony originated off-site.

“To me the landowner is liable. They’re coming onto our property and they’re doing damage,” Wiens said.

Now the neighbors are dog-tired and don’t know where to turn.

“Who wants to buy a condo that’s overrun by prairie dogs?” Wiens asked.

The Town of Parker says it’s up to property owners to mitigate prairie dogs on their land unless there’s an application to develop that land, in which case, applicants are encouraged to partner with conservation groups to relocate the prairie dogs. If those efforts are unsuccessful after 30 days, the applicant is allowed to “humanely exterminate” the prairie dogs, according to the town code.

The Town of Parker says there are no active land use applications for the site.

Property records indicate the lot is owned by Alberta Anthology LLC.

CBS News Colorado reached out to Alberta Development Partners to learn whether they have plans to develop and if they are aware of the prairie dogs and their impact. Alberta Anthology did not immediately respond to those requests for comment.

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