Residential developers Ken Mitchell and Tony Vienna and a team of volunteers built a small neighborhood within their west Loveland community: a network of burrows for prairie dogs.
Working with the Prairie Dog Coalition and Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the team moved 120 prairie dogs from their burrows on the south side of West First Street, across from Mariana Butte golf course, to make way for 76 single-family homes.
But instead of simply taking the land away from the animals, the developers created new habitat for them in a natural area that overlooks Boedecker Lake.
They found a way to maintain a natural balance that they say will benefit the entire ecosystem of people and animals, said Mitchell, with Mosaic Land Development Services.
The residents who move into the homes will pay about $2.50 more per month because of the costs associated with relocating the prairie dogs, Mitchell said. But they will gain much more, he said.
Standing near the relocated colony, Vienna, also with Mosaic, pointed out at least four raptors soaring in the blue sky near Boedecker Lake, a view people love — and a species that would not be able to thrive in that area without a food source.
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