The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Thursday that threats to the Gunnison prairie dog that include agriculture, grazing, invasive species, urbanization, and oil and gas operations won’t cause the animal to become extinct soon or in the foreseeable future. The prairie dogs make their homes in grasslands and intermountain valleys of northern Arizona, southwestern and south-central Colorado, northwestern New Mexico and southeastern Utah.

Taylor Jones of WildEarth Guardians said the federal government has dodged its responsibility to protect a species that exists in 5 percent of its historic range.

Read more at: US F&W fumbles (once again)