Conservation and Ecological Information: Columbian ground squirrels are herbivores. They are a food source for predatory birds, badgers, foxes, coyotes, and lynx.
Despite this important ecological role, most ground squirrels, including Columbians, have undergone mass extermination recently. Although without federal listing, Columbian ground squirrels are a species of conservation interest because their plight is the result of philosophy that is insensitive to sustainable natural resources. By keeping species with sustainable populations “in check”, we can prevent endangerment in the long run.
Scientists and the general public seem to understand the hysteria of ranchers over the “gopher epidemic”, and with good reason. Agriculture is important, and it cannot be argued that ground squirrels are always harmless to agriculturalists. However, ground squirrels are not the monstrous villains that the ranchers allege, for four reasons.
First, ground squirrels are not prolific breeders. Both ###es defer breeding until their second year of life, only half of the females in a colony wean juveniles each year, and they produce only 1 litter of 3-4 pups. Most of these pups do not survive into the next year. Second, broken legs of livestock caused by burrows seem rare. Cattle in Sheep River Provincial Park, for instance, forage in areas with squirrels each year, and there are no reported injuries on account of “gopher burrows”. Third, grazing does not necessarily leave fields barren and brown. Meadows containing ground squirrels during summer often have grass that is knee-high, and remains at this length each year until cattle begin foraging. Ground squirrels may colonize areas that have been overgrazed, so in fact, they are the result of overgrazing, not the cause. Finally, population crashes commonly follow colony expansions for colonies that have been studied. Thus, a multi-year rise in population seems unlikely, the populations will not increase without limit, and ground squirrel colonies usually do not increase their area over time.
For some reason, dry conditions are often blamed for a “gopher epidemics” because wet conditions are thought to kill off litters. This is a misguided notion—there is no scientific evidence of this trend, which has been tested for several times.
A compromise between agriculturalists and naturalists will be more effective if based factually. Millions of dollars have been spent to exterminate “gophers”, and this money could be spent to improve forage in other ways, or possibly reimburse ranchers for damage. The money spent to eliminate ground squirrels is often less than the value of the forage they eat. Furthermore, elimination of ground squirrels simply makes large predators hungrier, and these predators are therefore more likely to attack livestock. Thus, recent attempts to eradicate Columbian ground squirrels and similar species seem very inappropriate and impractical.
