Program to cull Elmer Thomas Park’s prairie dogs is proving successful

The prairie dog population in Elmer Thomas Park has begun to decline.

But, that doesn’t mean the cute and furry — but incredibly troublesome — tenants aren’t still causing problems.

The City of Lawton has begun a campaign to move some of their prairie dogs to new homes, courtesy of offers from wildlife management areas.

Parks and Recreation Director Larry Parks said crews working under the direction of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation has removed about 150 prairie dogs: eight to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge; the remainder to locations set by wildlife management officials.

In September, city officials said three wildlife management areas wanted to add Lawton prairie dogs to their lands: Hal & Fern Cooper Wildlife Management Area, a 16,080-acre preserve in Woodward and Harper counties; Cimarron Hills Wildlife Management Area, a 4,200-acre preserve in Woods County; and Sandy Sanders Wildlife Management Area, a 29,766-preserve in Greer and Beckham counties.

Recently removed prairie dogs come from a population estimated at 500, based on a count by city parks officials as they prepared for a program designed to trim the population to a manageable level. While visitors find the prairie dogs cute — surveys consistently identify them as a top draw for visitors coming to Lawton — city officials, residents near the park, and entities in or adjoining the park have a different take.

David Tyler, a member of the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission who manages fields for Lawton Public Schools, has battled prairie dogs for years. His concern: they come up in the athletic fields used by Lawton High and Central Middle School, and holes leading to underground burrows can be hazardous to student athletes.

Tyler said the prairie dogs are doing what he predicted they would do: within days of construction beginning on Elmer Thomas Park’s new aquatics center, burrow holes began appearing in his athletic fields. While Tyler takes a strict stance against the invaders, he’s seen one new burrow in recent days, while coworkers have counted at least three new residents.

“They’re migrating to the fields,” Tyler said.

Parks said that’s part of the reason city officials want the population under control. In the past, the prairie dogs also have gnawed wiring in Holiday in the Park displays, and migrated to residential properties on the south side of Northwest Ferris and property east of Northwest 2nd Street. Prairie dogs have been spotted inside the splash park, and have drawn the ire of state highway officials by creating burrows on the Northwest 2nd Street/Interstate 44 overpass.

Parks said the goal is to reduce the population by 60 percent, leaving a number that experts say Elmer Thomas Park can support.

“That’s what the park will hold,” he said, adding Parks and Recreation officials are finalizing plans for exactly where they will set the new prairie dog homeland. Master plans identify an area in the park’s central area as a refuge, meaning prairie dogs still will be around to entertain tourists while being moved out of areas where they can do harm.

There are plans to relocate additional prairie dogs, Parks said, explaining Lawton is waiting for final word from wildlife management officials to set up new capture and removal dates. Their final homes also have expanded. Parks said wildlife management officials say private individuals want some of the prairie dogs.

What hasn’t been done this year is lethal removal, a process where prairie dogs are poisoned. That requires a permit from state wildlife officials, which the City of Lawton typically obtains for late fall and winter.

“Right now, we’ll continue to do non-lethal removal,” Parks said. “There will come a time when they (wildlife management areas) can’t accept any more this year. When that happens, we’ll revert back to what we had been doing.”

What Lawton won’t do is completely remove its prairie dogs, Parks said, adding the relocation project is proving successful.

“It’s the safest, most humane way to remove them so they can get another shot at life at a better place,” he said.