Sunport to start gassing prairie dogs

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Starting on Wednesday, the Albuquerque Sunport will begin a government-mandated elimination of its entire prairie dog population.

"For the last two decades we've tried every humane approach possible, and all that did was make our situation worse,” city of Albuquerque spokesman Chris Ramirez said. “And now we're mandated by the FAA to get rid of all wildlife."

Since the famous “Miracle on the Hudson,” when a plane successfuly splashed down in the Hudson River after losing both engines when it flew through a flock of birds, the Federal Aviation Administration has told airports that they need to eradicate potentially dangerous wildlife.

“Even though it’s our property, they set the rules, and as a municipality the only option we have is to follow the rules,” Ramirez said.

The city and airport have been negotiating with U.S. Department of Agriculture biologists to come in and gas the rodents. The Sunport has set aside $50,000 per year for five years to eliminate the prairie dogs.

The city says it’s starting at the bottom of the food chain. With the prairie dog population plummeting, the city thinks birds and coyotes that eat the prairie dogs will then leave the runways also.

“Some tough choices have to be made but in the interest of public safety,” Ramirez said.

In the past few years six aircraft have hit coyotes on the runway.

The Albuquerque advocacy group, Prairie Dog Pals, said they’re very upset with the elimination of prairie dogs at the airport. A spokeswoman for the group said they’ve tried to set up meetings with the Airport Advisory Board and other city officials just to be turned away.

The group wanted public input sought by the city to find a different solution, and more importantly, a more humane solution for the prairie dogs.