From Defenders of Wildlife:
"Officials in Lubbock, Texas, are about to exterminate one of the largest remaining prairie dog colonies in the southern Great Plains. They claim these prairie dogs are causing nitrogen levels to increase in groundwater, but there is no scientific evidence to support this. Black-tailed prairie dogs are known as a keystone species because of their importance to the ecosystem. An estimated 170 species of wildlife rely at some level on prairie dogs for their survival. Texas once had more than 78 million acres of colonies. Now, prairie dogs occupy a minuscule 1 percent of that land. Help save prairie dogs from extermination in Texas."
This is a bogus excuse. The nitrogen leves are more likely to be from farm fertilizer runoff. Historically the Panhandle had tens of millions of prairie dogs and millions of bison, pronghorn and elk. I doubt the ground water had any problems.
What can you do? Go to
http://den.defenders.org/