The Editor:

JOHN L. HOOGLAND is a researcher at Appalachian Laboratory, the University of Maryland, Frostburg, and has studied prairie dogs for 32 years.

From the publisher's announcement:

Prairie dogs and the grassland habitat in which they play a key ecological role have declined precipitously over the past two centuries. The current number of prairie dogs is believed to be less than 2 percent of the number encountered by Lewis and Clark in the early 1800s, and only a fraction of grassland ecosystem remains.

Conservation of the Black-Tailed Prairie Dog offers specific information to help scientists and managers develop rigorous plans for ensuring the long-term survival of the prairie dog and its habitat. With contributions from thirty leading biologists who are actively working to save prairie dogs, the book addresses a range of pivotal issues including:

the ecology and social behavior of prairie dogs the prairie dog's role as a keystone species factors that have led to drastic population declines practical solutions for protecting the prairie dog and its grassland ecosystem and concerns of farmers and ranchers who view prairie dogs as a nuisance and a threat to their livelihoods Extensively illustrated with tables, figures, photos, and charts, and thoroughly referenced with more than 700 citations, the book is a unique and vital contribution for anyone concerned with prairie dogs, prairie dog conservation, or the conservation and management of grassland ecosystems.