Prairie dogs are down to 2% of their native population in Colorado and habitats along the front range are decreasing faster than anywhere else due to urban development and agriculture. Most of the time, developers and city officials exterminate prairie dogs because other options are costly or difficult. That's where we come in.

This GoFundMe originally started to help a specific prairie dog colony in Longmont, Colorado. After the successful relocation in Harvest Junction, I was contacted by Grasslands Colorado, a non-profit that helps landowners with humane wildlife management across Colorado. I joined the board as the Northern Colorado Outreach Director and have been helping various landowners and cities find humane options when wildlife conflicts come up. Since then, we've been able to save multiple colonies in Longmont, Gunbarrel, Loveland, and Fort Collins, along with progressing ordinance updates in cities to better protect prairie dogs.

This GoFundMe was vital in kicking things off and we need support now more than ever before. I'm currently helping with 3 colonies in Longmont, all of which need improved barriers to prevent prairie dogs from expanding into areas that cause conflict. The landowners of these properties are not big developers with deep pockets but rather residential houses with prairie dogs digging into their septic systems and a daycare with concerned parents. I'm trying to make the humane option the most affordable one for these landowners so they don't just default to the cheaper method - killing them all. Please help out however you can- donate, share, volunteer, educate others, etc.

Here's a photo of a prairie dog using one of the one-way doors I set up to allow them to leave a burrow safely but not allowed back in.

Prairie dogs and other native wildlife need your help now more than ever before. Thank you for the support!

- Jaime Fraina

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ORIGINAL DETAILS:

The Harvest Junction Village HOA will be meeting on January 20th to discuss exterminating our local prairie dog habitat. The habitat supports other local wildlife, but removing the prairie dogs may be the only option the HOA wants to move forward with.

These funds are to help offset the cost of either building a better barrier (if the HOA is open to it) or relocation to ensure it's cheaper than extermination.

The type of barrier we'll be proposing is the recommended one by Boulder County Open Space. The cost of the barrier and planting tall grass around it will be roughly $3k-4k.

If relocation is chosen, we have a relocator who has offered to do a relocation at only the cost of transportation, bait, or other supplies that are needed.

The HOA is under no obligation to use these funds. We will kindly offer this to make the choice as easy as possible, but there are other factors. For example, there may not be any relocation centers available this year or they could decide they don't want to wait to plant new grass.

If the HOA ends up not being open to either option, the funding will be used for / donated to other wildlife initiatives in Longmont or Colorado. Most likely we'll be donating it to https://southernplains.org/en/, an organization that buys plains land to protect native ecosystems.

I've walked in this park since before the HOA was even established. I love seeing it be a place that is full of life and couldn't bare to see it become a graveyard for wildlife that once flourished here. Please help save these animals if you can.

Thank you for your support!

UPDATE 1:

Grasslands Colorado has offered to potentially PAY THEIR RENT! The HOA would actually profit if they just kept the prairie dogs as is until they can be relocated. I can't believe the support this is getting, thank you all so much!

UPDATE 2:

The HOA board voted to exterminate on March 1st, knowing that relocation cannot happen before then. There is still time to have them change their minds though. I've increased our goal to $5k, any funds not used to save the HJV prairie dogs will instead be donated to an organization like Southern Plains Land Trust or Grasslands Colorado to help prairie dogs in other areas of Colorado. Thank you for all the support.

UPDATE 3:

Good news! The board will be voting on June 16th to decide if they will be preserving or relocating the colony. It's looking more and more likely that they will be conserving this natural space to help support other local wildlife after seeing how much it means to the residents here. You can see more about it on this CBS video and article - cbsnews.com/colorado/news/colorado-volunteers-work-conserve-prairie-dog-colony/?

Thanks everyone who has supported so far!