Prairie Dog Information and Permits

Notice: Passive relocation of prairie dogs on City-owned property

Location: 2050 W Baseline Road

Xcel Energy will be conducting passive relocation of prairie dogs on City-owned property. This work will be in accordance with the City's Prairie Dog Management Policy and will be performed from June through September 2022. The passive relocation will occur within Xcel Energy's construction area at 2050 W. Baseline Road. 
View the vicinity map (PDF).

Please direct questions to Xcel Energy by calling the Broomfield to Lafayette Natural Gas Project hotline at 833-949-2941. 

Notice: Relocation of prairie dogs on various parcels

Location: Baseline One Condominiums; Black Diamond Subdivision; Baseline Business Center; Lafayette Farms East 

Smith Environmental will be conducting relocation of prairie dogs from privately-owned property beginning Nov. 1, 2022. Smith Environmental proposes to humanely relocate approximately 246 prairie dogs from a site of combined properties totaling approximately 15 acres on various contiguous parcels plus one other parcel across Aspen Ridge Drive as shown on the vicinity map below through catch and release. The release site is a conservation area owned and operated by several partners (USFWS and Chemical Depot, U.S. Army, CSU Pueblo), in Pueblo, Colorado. The work will be done in accordance with the Colorado Parks and Wildlife permit regulations and has been obtained. Per state guidelines, Smith Environmental will conduct a burrowing owl survey(s) before trapping and relocation.

A permit was granted in accordance with Ordinance No. 4, Series 2020 for prairie dog control on private property.

View the vicinity map (PDF).

Please direct questions to Matt Strauser, Smith Environmental at 303-551-7977. 

Sundar Phase 2: Prairie dog lethal control permit

Proposal: To use carbon monoxide to euthanize approximately 227 prairie dogs on a 7.1 acre site. 

Location: Northwest corner of US Highway 287 and Dillon Road, Lafayette, Colorado

Update: The original report provided proposed lethal control; however a new site recently opened up to accept prairie dogs. The applicant/consultant proposes to relocate all prairie dogs on this site to the US Army Pueblo Chemical Depot in Pueblo, Colorado.

Permit Status:  The Sundar Phase 2 Prairie Dog Control Permit was approved on August 15, 2022 and all prairie dogs on the Sundar Phase 2 site will be relocated to the US Army Chemical Depot site by Deb Jones, Prairie Dog Action. The relocation will take approximately one month.

For more information:  Email: planning@lafayetteco.gov

  1. Prairie Dogs in Lafayette

Prairie Dogs in Lafayette 

Wildlife and its habitat are significant factors in the quality of life enjoyed by Lafayette residents. The presence of various species of wildlife provides numerous biological, economic, recreational, psychological, and spiritual benefits to the community. The responsibility for protecting Lafayette’s wildlife resources is shared by elected officials, City of Lafayette staff, private property owners, and others.

Land development, regional location, and other factors have resulted in increases in conflicts between prairie dogs, landowners, and prairie dog control measures. The City of Lafayette has established the following actions to ensure responsible management of prairie dogs within city limits.

Formation and operation of the Prairie Dog Advisory Working Group (PDAWG)

Members of the  Lafayette Prairie Dog Advisory Working Group (PDAWG) are appointed by City Council to provide advice and information to assist the City in the protection and humane treatment of prairie dogs on public and private land.

Prairie Dog Management Policy for public lands

View the Prairie Dog Management Policy
It is the City’s policy to avoid adverse impacts to prairie dog towns to the extent reasonable. If impacts to prairie dogs cannot reasonably be avoided in conjunction with a “City” project, such as in cases where an overriding public need or benefit is incompatible with preservation of a prairie dog colony on a specific parcel of City-owned or City-managed land, one or a combination of alternatives will be utilized. 

These alternatives, in order of preference, will be followed without prior public notice: 

  1. Passive relocation
  2. Relocation to City Open Space
  3. Relocation to alternative sites
  4. Lethal control using carbon monoxide only
  1. Prairie Dog Permit Process
  1. Applications Under Review