How Hundreds of Prairie Dogs Transformed Montana’s Barren Plains Into Thriving Ecosystems скачать в хорошем качестве

How Hundreds of Prairie Dogs Transformed Montana’s Barren Plains Into Thriving Ecosystems

Before 1800, an estimated 5 billion prairie dogs lived across the American West, from Canada to Mexico, covering the plains with underground apartment complexes that shifted over the centuries like sand dunes. Their colonies once exceeded 25,000 acres in Northeast Montana alone, collectively covering hundreds of thousands of acres of thriving grassland ecosystem. By the 1990s, prairie dogs occupied just 2% of their historic range. They had become one of the most maligned and persecuted animal species in the Western United States. Montana ranchers dismissed them as destructive pests that competed with livestock for grass and caused economic losses when cattle stepped into their burrows. Agricultural associations supported government-sponsored poisoning programs that had been eliminating prairie dog colonies since the 1930s. A 2020 survey in northern Montana found that well over half the area's landowners believed prairie dogs should not live on public land at all. But behind the scenes, something extraordinary was taking shape. Quietly, patiently, and relentlessly. And what happened next shocked ranchers, scientists, and even the most dedicated conservationists. To understand how the most persecuted rodent in the American West became the key to restoring an entire ecosystem, we need to go back to what was lost. Prairie dogs weren't just abundant - they were ecosystem engineers whose industrious prairie pruning and ingenious tunnel systems supported over 100 other species across the Great Plains. Welcome to Forgotten Lands, where we uncover the impossible transformations that changed everything.