How do we manage prairie dogs on our HOA open space in Colorado?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 29, 2026

How a Colorado HOA board handles a prairie dog colony on open space: CPW relocation permits, county approval, barrier specs, licensed control and plague safety.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

Decide first where prairie dogs can stay and where they cannot, then keep them out of the second area with a barrier and deal with the animals already there through a permitted relocation or licensed lethal control. Get the board's plan in writing before anyone touches a burrow, because Colorado splits authority over prairie dogs between two state agencies, counties have a say over releases, and some cities protect burrows by ordinance. This guide is written for Colorado, where black-tailed prairie dog colonies on HOA detention areas, open space tracts and greenbelts are common along the Front Range. Other states have their own wildlife and pest rules, and your declaration may limit what the board can do on common area. Treat this as education, not legal advice, and call the local Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) district wildlife manager before you commit to a method.

Who has a say in Colorado

CPW's prairie dog page says the animals are classified and managed by CPW under Title 33 of the Colorado Revised Statutes and by the Colorado Department of Agriculture under Title 35. In practice that gives the board four rules to know. Relocation needs a permit. CPW states that it is unlawful to capture, transport and relocate prairie dogs without a CPW permit. CPW issues the permits but does not move the animals; local governments and private or nonprofit groups usually run relocations. Releases need county approval. C.R.S. 35-7-203 lists prairie dogs as "destructive rodent pests" and bars releasing them into a county without the approval of the parks and wildlife commission and a resolution of that county's board of commissioners. The exception is release in the same county where the animals were caught. A county that never approved a release can make the person who released them remove them or pay a fine to cover the cost. Lethal control on your own land is allowed. CPW says landowners, or an agent of the landowner, may hunt, trap or lethally remove prairie dogs causing damage to crops, real or personal property, or livestock. Because they are a nuisance species, this can happen at any time without a license. CPW also treats anyone the landowner asks to help as the landowner's agent, so for common area the association is the landowner and a hired contractor works on its behalf. Cities can add rules. Boulder, for example, prohibits damaging prairie dog burrows by city ordinance. Check your city and county code before the board votes.

Map the colony and agree on the goal

Walk the open space in spring and again in late summer. Mark the active burrow area on a site plan and note where it touches lots, trails, playgrounds, sports turf and detention pond banks. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Backyard Farmer page says burrows have one or two entrances and run about 6 to 9 feet deep and 10 to 20 feet long, so a hole near a retaining wall or pond embankment is a structural question, not just a lawn one. Ask your engineer or landscaper to look at those spots. Then decide what the board is solving. Common goals are keeping the colony off turf and out of backyards, keeping trails and play areas safe from holes, or removing a colony that has spread past the open space. Many owners like having prairie dogs nearby, and others want them gone, so a short owner survey before the vote saves a fight later. A question you can copy: "Which of these should the board pursue for the prairie dogs on the north open space? (a) leave the colony and install a barrier along the lot line, (b) relocate the colony under a state permit if a site can be found, (c) remove the colony using a licensed contractor, (d) no preference."

Build a barrier that holds

A barrier will not move a colony, but it can stop one from spreading into yards and turf. Boulder's open space barrier cost-share program publishes specifications that make a good starting bid spec: - Chicken wire is the recommended material. Vinyl, shade cloth backed with hardware cloth, and metal panels are accepted. Silt fencing is not. - The vertical part stands 30 to 36 inches tall. - The base is either trenched at least 36 inches deep or has a 30 to 36 inch apron anchored to the ground and facing the colony. - Chicken wire on an existing wire fence should not attach to the top wire. - A barrier not built on the boundary fence sits at least 6 feet inside it. UNL notes that prairie dogs mostly eat plants less than an inch high and that taller grass or less appealing plants can make an area less attractive. Raise the mowing height and stop irrigating turf right next to the colony, and keep the barrier line itself clear so plants do not become a ladder. Walk the barrier after storms and each spring, and budget for repairs; a gap left for a season undoes the whole project.

Relocation or lethal control

Relocation is the option owners ask for most and the hardest to deliver. The board needs a CPW permit, a receiving site whose owner agrees, and county approval if that site is in another county. Start by asking the district wildlife manager and your county open space office which groups currently run relocations and what their wait looks like. Budget time measured in seasons, and expect that no site may be found. Lethal control is legal on association land when the animals are damaging property, but it is pesticide work if it uses fumigants or poison bait. Under C.R.S. 35-10-103, anyone applying pesticides for hire is a commercial applicator, and applying restricted-use products takes a certified operator. Section 35-10-106 requires a licensed commercial applicator business to carry at least $400,000 in liability insurance and to use a qualified supervisor licensed in the class of work. Ask for the business license, the supervisor's license and a certificate of insurance naming the association before work starts. Ask the contractor in writing how they will keep dogs, children and nontarget wildlife safe, and how they will handle burrows near lots. Whatever the method, tell owners before the work, not after. Removal on open space is visible, and boards that act quietly usually end up explaining themselves at a heated meeting.

Plague, fleas and owner safety

CPW calls plague the biggest threat to prairie dog populations. It is a bacterial disease spread by fleas, and CPW notes that symptoms in people can appear up to 14 days after the last contact with prairie dogs and that antibiotics work if given early. A colony that suddenly goes quiet may be a plague die-off. Keep people and pets away, do not let volunteers or contractors handle carcasses barehanded, and call the county health department; the CDC's prevention page says to contact your local health department with questions about disposing of dead animals. The CDC's other advice fits a newsletter: reduce rodent habitat around homes and recreation areas, keep fleas off pets with flea control products, use repellent with DEET on skin and clothing, and wear gloves when handling animals that might be infected. For trail and fence work, our guide on reducing ticks on HOA trails and open space covers repellent and clothing advice the crew can use for fleas too.

Wording the board can copy

Motion: "I move that the board approve a prairie dog barrier along the east lot line of Tract B, built to the attached specification, at a cost not to exceed $[amount] from the operating budget, and direct the secretary to request bids from at least two contractors." Owner notice: "Prairie dogs live on the north open space and are protected and regulated by state law. The board is installing a barrier along the lot line to keep the colony out of yards and off the park turf. Please do not fill burrows, set traps or let dogs dig in the colony. If you see several dead prairie dogs, do not touch them; call [contact] and the county health department." Sign at the open space edge: "Prairie dog colony. Keep dogs leashed and on the trail. Do not feed or handle wildlife."

A one-year plan and common mistakes

Winter: map the colony, check city and county rules, call the district wildlife manager, and run the owner survey. Early spring: board vote on the goal, then bids. Spring and summer: build the barrier and line up a relocation group or licensed contractor if removal is part of the plan. Fall: walk the barrier, update the map and set next year's repair budget. Mistakes boards make: letting a volunteer or owner trap and move prairie dogs without a permit; hiring a "wildlife guy" with no Department of Agriculture license for fumigation; building a barrier with silt fence that is shredded in a year; mowing turf short right up to the colony, which feeds it; and skipping the owner notice. Our guide on moles and pocket gophers in common turf covers the trapping and turf repair side if smaller burrowers show up after the colony is handled.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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