News flash; the year is 2003. It is with sadness I write this article. We no longer have any Burrowing Owls left in the wild.
"Due to the enormous effort to destroy every prairie dog with poison and the constant spraying of poison by air for many years in an attempt to kill insects that feeds upon crops which feed cattle; and because of the fencing off of all the lands in the western states, we have created an environment that is not fit for any creature to live.
Even the cattle have suffered and they were the original reason for this unrelenting effort of declared massive extinction of entire species. We have forever lost some creatures that depended on and contributed to this eco system.
There are no more Prairie dogs. That also means that there is no underground drainage system for the rain water to drench deep into the vast plains and build up the water table below the surface. Look for the dust bowl to reoccur.
Also lost forever are the following species; Lark, Nighthawk, Plover, Magpie, Quail, Sage Hen, and, sadly, the Burrowing Owl.
All these creatures fed mainly upon the poisoned grasshoppers, and thus became victims themselves.
If one were to consider what the cost was to kill; to spray; to fence; that money could have been spent in an effort to heal the environment and save all the creatures. It would have benefited the cattleman too, had they only been enlightened enough to consider a different option.
But, it is too late to change any of that now.
Everything is connected on this world. No one species is an island. But it appears as if some of us make short term decisions with long term consequences."
*end story*
Although this is not the case yet, we are well on our way to this story being true in some areas. For those that are interested in using common sense and saving our precious wildlife, I urge you to make a difference. Stop using poisons! Stop thinking in terms of killing. Start thinking in terms of how what you do will impact the environment.
Any comments you care to make may be sent to my e-mail address. Thank you.
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