I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2973 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to extend an exemption from certain 

requirements of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to protect public 

health and safety. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011 

Mr. MATHESON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to extend an exemption from certain requirements of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to protect public health and safety. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Public Safe5 ty and Sacred Sites from the Utah Prairie Dog Act of 

6 2011’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) habitation by the Utah prairie dog within 

2 the boundaries of the Parowan City Airport in 

3 Parowan, Utah, constitutes a serious threat to 

4 human health and safety; 

5 (2) the Utah prairie dog burrows beneath the 

6 surface of the airport runways, causing sink holes to 

7 occur on the Parowan Airport landing strip; 

8 (3) airport managers have expressed concern 

9 over the possibility of an airplane wheel getting 

10 caught in holes caused by Utah prairie dog burrows, 

11 at landing or during take-off, which may cause an 

12 accident; 

13 (4) there is also serious concern that the bur14 rows could cause the asphalt on the airport runways 

15 to collapse under the weight of stationary airplanes; 

16 (5) the Federal Aviation Administration has re17 quired a 37.5-foot safety zone to extend on each side 

18 of the Parowan Airport runway; 

19 (6) airport managers and officials from the 

20 Utah Department of Wildlife Resources have deter21 mined that Utah prairie dogs create a serious haz22 ard by their presence and activities in the safety 

23 zone and runway at Parowan Airport; 

24 (7) Utah prairie dogs have been burrowing near 

25 and interfering with airport runway lighting; 


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1 (8) the habitation of the Utah prairie dog with2 in the boundaries of the cemetery in Paragonah, 

3 Utah, constitutes a serious threat to an area of cul4 tural sanctity and to public health; 

5 (9) the Utah prairie dog burrows under and 

6 around gravestones in the cemetery, causing signifi7 cant damage to property and heartache to grieving 

8 visitors; 

9 (10) it has also been discovered that Utah prai10 rie dogs have burrowed into coffins of the deceased 

11 within the cemetery, disturbing human remains; 

12 (11) the disruption of funeral services and the 

13 emotional distress of cemetery visitors caused by 

14 Utah prairie dogs at the cemetery destroy the sanc15 tity of the cemetery; 

16 (12) efforts are being made to prevent the Utah 

17 prairie dog from gaining access to the Parowan City 

18 Airport; 

19 (13) a fence has been constructed around the 

20 Paragonah cemetery and has failed to prevent Utah 

21 prairie dogs from gaining access to the cemetery; 

22 and 

23 (14) Congress should provide for an exemption 

24 to permit takings under the Endangered Species Act 

25 of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) as a last resort in 


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1 situations in which the presence of a threatened or 

2 endangered species constitutes a grave public health 

3 or safety risk or disturbs the sanctity of a burial 

4 site. 

5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act: 

7 (1) PRACTICABLE MEASURES.—The term 

8 ‘‘practicable measures’’ means, with respect to the 

9 Utah prairie dog— 

10 (A) the construction of fences around 

11 areas in which there is a public safety concern 

12 posed by the presence of the Utah prairie dog; 

13 and 

14 (B) translocation of Utah prairie dogs 

15 using established methods used by— 

16 (i) the United States Fish and Wild17 life Service; or 

18 (ii) the Utah Division of Wildlife Re19 sources. 

20 (2) SATISFACTION OF THE SECRETARY.—The 

21 term ‘‘satisfaction of the Secretary’’ means, with re22 spect to a determination made by the Secretary, that 

23 the determination is made taking into consideration 

24 the expert opinions of biologists and project man25 agers of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service 


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1 typically used in the making of such a determina2 tion. 

3 SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF EXEMPTION. 

4 Notwithstanding any other provision of law (includ5 ing regulations), the Secretary of the Interior shall amend 

6 the special rule of the Secretary contained in section 

7 17.40(g) of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations (as in 

8 effect on the date of enactment of this Act), as necessary 

9 to permit the taking of the Utah prairie dog under the 

10 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 

11 to include such a taking in any airport or cemetery in the 

12 range of the Utah prairie dog in which, as demonstrated 

13 by a State to the satisfaction of the Secretary— 

14 (1) the entry or existence of the Utah prairie 

15 dog will cause or has caused a threat to public 

16 health and safety or to the sanctity of a burial site; 

17 and 

18 (2) all practicable measures to eliminate that 

19 threat have been carried out without success. 

Æ 


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