eld Canyon 45 burrows were counted north of the
fence. The grass had been increasing in abundance for several years.

On August 18, 1949, no evidence of living prairie dogs was found in
either canyon. In 1951 five prairie dogs were said to have been seen in
Prater Canyon in June and July. No other observations have been
recorded.

On June 22, 1956, 13 pups and 7 adult prairie dogs were released in an
enclosure in Morfield Canyon. Periodic inspections in the summer
revealed that the colony was surviving and healthy. By the following
spring no prairie dogs remained. Another reintroduction is planned this
year (1960).

Both the history of the prairie dogs and the history of the viewpoint of
people toward them are interesting. Individual views have ranged from a
desire to exterminate all the prairie dogs to a desire to leave them
undisturbed by man.

In review: The early history of prairie dogs on the Mesa Verde is not
well documented but reports are available of the absence of prairie dogs
before settlement by white men, and of introductions of prairie dogs.
Other reports indicate that prairie dogs have been observed far from
established colonies; therefore natural invasion may account for the
establishment of prairie dogs on the Mesa. Grazing of moderate to heavy
intensity by livestock continued in Morfield Canyon until 1941.
Cessation of grazing and above average precipitation were accompanied by
increased growth of vegetation in the colonies of prairie dogs. Mr. Wade
has suggested that flooding of burrows by ground water drove prairie
dogs from some lower parts of the floors of the canyons, and that
increased vegetation favored predators, primarily badgers and coyotes,
which further reduced the population. The abruptness of the decline,
especially in Prater Canyon, is consistent with the theory that some
epidemic disease occurred. This possibility was considered at the time
of the decline, and a Mobile Laboratory of the United States Public
Health Service spent from June 5 to June 25, 1947, in the Park
collecting rodents and their fleas for study. The primary concern was
plague, which had been detected in neighboring states. No evidence of
plague or of tularemia was reported after study of 494 small rodents
obtained from 13 localities in the Park. Only six prairie dogs (all from
Morfield Canyon) were studied. The negative report does not prove that
tularemia or some other disease was not a factor in the decimation o