Ted Turner to be Honored for Protecting Prairie Dogs

For Immediate Release:

Contact: Andrew Sovonick; 301-721-6463; asovonick@humanesociety.org

Named “Prairie Dog Protector of the Year” by The Humane Society of the United States’ Prairie Dog Coalition

BOULDER, Colo. (October 14, 2011) – The Prairie Dog Coalition, a program of The Humane Society of the United States, is pleased to announce the 7th annual Living on Burrowed Time gala on Oct. 28, to honor those who have helped protect prairie dogs. This year’s event will celebrate the coalition’s 10th anniversary and will honor special guest Ted Turner as Prairie Dog Protector of the Year.

Turner’s work to bring back native wildlife populations is without parallel. His ranches contain more than 11,000 restored acres that are home to more than 150,000 prairie dogs. He chairs numerous foundations and businesses, including the Turner Foundation, which supports efforts for improving air and water quality, developing a sustainable energy future to protect earth’s climate, safeguarding environmental health, developing practices and policies to curb population growth rates and maintaining wildlife habitat protection.

“I am honored to receive this award from the Prairie Dog Coalition,” said Turner. “I feel it is our duty to protect these animals on our land -- not only because, as I’ve always said, it was their home before it was mine, but because these animals are absolutely essential to the health and well-being of surrounding species, as well as to the land itself.”

“The Coalition is pleased to be hosting such a grand event with the attendance of Mr. Turner and generous sponsors who stepped up for the prairie dogs,” said Lindsey Sterling-Krank, director of the Prairie Dog Coalition. “We have grown as an organization during the last ten years, implementing long-term solutions for imperiled prairie dogs, and that’s what this year’s Living on Burrowed Time Gala is all about: honoring Mr. Turner’s on-the-ground model that protects wildlife and extending that model into other key conservation areas.”

The gala will take place Oct. 28 at 5:30 p.m. at the St. Julien Hotel ballroom in Boulder. Tickets will include a four course gourmet dinner, organic wines, videos and live and silent auctions. The cost is $100 per ticket when bought in advance at prairiedogcoalition.org or by mail-in card, or $150 at the door. Ticket sales will go directly toward improving prairie dog management plans and field projects. Guests are asked to RSVP by Friday, Oct. 21.

The Prairie Dog Coalition would also like to thank several important sponsors for their support, including the Momentum Fund, David and Julie Worthington, the Red Empress Foundation, Friends of Wildlife Land Trust, Southern Plains Land Trust, Bob and Holly Larson and Diane Brinkmann.

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To learn more about Ted Turner, visit www.tedturner.com.