Ill 



"Prairie Management Plan" incorporates USFWS ' s 

 Conservation Recommendations presented with the formal 

 Section 7 (Endangered Species Act) Consultation in regard to 

 poisoning prairie dogs. Population status and habitat use 

 for endangered or threatened species associated with prairie 

 dog complexes will be surveyed and monitored, and species- 

 specific management plans will be written. Federally listed 

 species probably occurring on the Cheyenne River Reservation 

 include bald eagle, black-footed ferret (past sightings 

 only), interior least terns (Sterna aantillarum) , peregrine 

 falcons (Falco peregrinus) , piping plovers, (Charadrius 

 melodus) , whooping crane (Grus americanus) and the American 

 burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus, status unknown). 



The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe proposes to adopt 

 additional conservation measures for candidate species 

 (species being considered for federal listing as endangered 

 or threatened) associated with prairie dog complexes. 

 Surveys to determine status and habitat use, monitoring, and 

 written management plans will be developed for the 

 Swainson's hawk (Buteo swainsoni) , ferruginous hawk (B. 

 regalis), mountain plover (Charadrius montanus) , long-billed 

 curlew (Numenius americanus) , loggerhead shrike {Lanius 

 ludovicianus) , and the northern swift fox (Vulpes velox) . 

 Population enhancement for these species now may prevent 

 listing, and save millions of dollars in future 

 reintroduction expenses. 



5. PUBLIC EDUCATION 



The underlying challenge of the project is to change 

 the deeply ingrained western attitude that prairie dogs are 

 "pests", to promote an understanding and appreciation for 

 prairie biodiversity, and to secure the voluntary 

 participation of livestock operators in the project. 

 Specifically, it will be the responsibility of individual 

 permittees, and tribal and BIA land managers to implement 

 the range management techniques on leased trust lands. 

 Although the Tribe has received an initial favorable 

 response from cattle operators about the project, it will be 

 essential to provide education to these operators on the 

 benefits and the actual use of the proposed management 

 techniques. 



The cooperation of the BIA and Tribal range managers 

 is also critical to ensure compliance. For example, the BIA 

 requires individual operators to annually submit operation 

 plans which include lease stipulations on how the range 

 units will be used. These plans will be modified from 

 current modes to include the proposed management strategies. 

 The Tribes and BIA must have adequate range and wildlife 

 personnel and equipment to conduct monitoring, provide 

 technical support to individual operators and to ensure 

 compliance with the new management strategies. The success 



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