Current Projects
Initiative #302
The amendment would lock specific, rigid preferences into the constitution, tying the hands of Colorado Parks and Wildlife experts and preventing them from making agile, science-based decisions during ecological or disease crises.
Current Projects
Prairie Protection Colorado was founded to protect one of Colorado's most important yet misunderstood keystone species: the prairie dog. Protecting and restoring prairie dog habitat remains at the heart of everything we do because healthy prairie dog colonies support entire grassland ecosystems, benefiting countless species of birds, mammals, reptiles, insects, and native plants.
But our commitment to wildlife does not stop at the edge of a prairie dog colony. Many of the most important decisions affecting Colorado's wildlife are made in meeting rooms rather than on the landscape—through actions taken by the Colorado Wildlife Commission, the Colorado Legislature, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife. From the management of Colorado's furbearer species to broader questions about whether wildlife policies are grounded in sound science and ecological integrity, critical issues continue to shape the future of our state's wild places.
Through advocacy, public education, community engagement, and coalition building, Prairie Protection Colorado works to ensure that wildlife has a voice in these conversations. Our current projects reflect both our dedication to prairie dog conservation and our broader commitment to promoting science-based wildlife management, protecting biodiversity, and fostering a culture of coexistence between people and the natural world.
The projects featured below represent some of the most pressing conservation challenges facing Colorado today—and some of the greatest opportunities for citizens to make a difference.
Science-Based Petition
This petition, submitted by Eric Washburn, intends to ensure that all future regulations, rules, plans, and policies developed by the agency incorporate and follow the best available science.
Prairie Dog Petition
This petition, submitted by Pam Wanek, would restrict take of prairie dogs on public land.
The populations of each of Colorado’s three prairie dog species are imperiled, declining,
and fragmented throughout their range and across the state. As stated above, they have lost
over 92% of the area they once occupied. Shooting is a significant threat to prairie dog
populations in addition to other human-caused threats that include sylvatic plague, poisoning,
habitat loss and degradation, and insufficient regulatory mechanisms to conserve prairie dogs.
Seeding prairie dog colonies with native grasses, wildflowers, and shrubs helps restore and strengthen the prairie ecosystem from the ground up. Native plants provide food, shelter, and nesting habitat for countless insects, pollinators, birds, reptiles, and mammals that depend on healthy grasslands.
