Utah prairie dog the population decline, though there are other factors, such as "land development, deteriorating rangeland health, the encroachment of woody vegetation, sylvatic plague, and drought." Conservation efforts include encouraging landowners to improve the health of their rangelands, and compensating farmers who set aside areas the prairie dogs may use. Utah prairie dog The Utah prairie dog ("Cynomys parvidens") is the smallest species of prairie dog, a member of the squirrel family of rodents native to the south central steppes of the US state of Utah. The fur is multicolor, which consists of black, brown, and dark brown at the tip. Face
Black-tailed prairie dog may increase mortality. Roads, streams, and lakes may serve as barriers to sylvatic plague. Black-tailed prairie dogs are frequently exterminated from ranchland, being viewed as pests. Their habitat has been fragmented, and their numbers have been greatly reduced. Additionally, they are remarkably susceptible to plague. In 2006, all eight appearances of plague in black-tailed prairie dog colonies resulted in total colony loss. Studies in 1961 estimated only of occupied black-tailed prairie dog habitat in the United States. A second study in 2000 showed . However, a comprehensive study between 10 states and various tribes in 2004 estimated in the United