Celestial Seasonings Commits to Protecting Prairie Dogs

RMAD Lifts Boycott


In May, 1999, popular tea-maker Celestial Seasonings poisoned prairie dogs on its property in Boulder, Colorado. Rocky Mountain Animal Defense (RMAD) announced a boycott of Celestial Seasonings products upon learning of this incident. Our boycott called for Celestial Seasonings to make the following commitments:

  • No more killing of prairie dogs, or any other wildlife species, on this property.
  • No relocation of prairie dogs from this property.
  • Recovery of the poisoned areas on this property (i.e., explore the possibility of relocating prairie dogs from elsewhere in the county to this property to fill the void created by the deaths).
  • No development of this property.
  • No use of this property as a temporary parking lot or for other disruptive uses. (This had been done recently.)


Shortly after the poisoing, RMAD representatives met with Celestial Seasonings representatives to discuss the situation. At this time, we have reached a satisfactory agreement with Celestial Seasonings and are lifting our boycott.

Thanks to everyone who wrote e-mails and letters, made phone calls, and otherwise helped affect this positive outcome.

The only issue of contention regarded development. RMAD agreed to the relocation of prairie dogs from one portion of the land to another to make room for impending development on the property. Celestial Seasonings committed to providing permanent protection for the remaining 15-20 acres – land that represents fully one-third of the remaining privately held prairie dog colonies in Boulder.

Celestial Seasonings worked with RMAD to draft the following action plan, which will guide the company's prairie dog policy:

  1. Immediately limit prairie dog colony management activity to relocation within property boundaries only.
  2. Continue meeting with leading environmental and wildlife organizations to hear their concerns first-hand and ask their help to develop our long-term strategy for co-existence with the prairie dog colony.
  3. Explore the potential for some relocation of prairie dogs to our property.
  4. In anticipation of a facility expansion plan, create a buffer zone around the facility with minimal impact on the existing habitat.
  5. Ensure that the colony is protected during all activities utilizing the facility and, most importantly, that the fields are not used for parking.
  6. Establish the Celestial Seasonings' Environmental Grant program. This program will request proposals from Boulder County Environmental and Wildlife organizations. Our intent is to receive these proposals by July 1, 1999. We will then have our employees vote on which two or three organizations they would like us to support. Our financial support would be up to $50,000 per year in total. These groups would also be organizations our employees would be prepared to volunteer their time to.
  7. Include education regarding the value and the plight of prairie dog ecosystems in our company tour and consumer relations efforts.


Celestial Seasonings CEO Steve Hughes says he and his company have come to understand the importance of prairie dogs and the plight of these animals. In a full-page ad published on May 28, 1999, in the Boulder Daily Camera, the company states, "[W]e hope to be a model for handling environmental issues in a humane and earth friendly manner.

The decision by Celestial Seasonings to protect the prairie dogs on its land, and to integrate a discussion on the importance of the prairie dog ecosystem into its tours, is a step ahead for the business community. We expect other companies along Colorado's Front Range to recognize that the days of exterminating wildlife are over. It is our rresponsibility not only to protect what remains of our natural places, but to peacefully coexist with the inhabitants of those places.

Poisoning has been the greatest historical threat to prairie dogs in the United States. As early as 1912, more than 90% of the prairie dogs in Colorado were eliminated through poisoning alone. And poisoning continues to this day.

RMAD has worked since its inception to protect prairie dogs and the short- and mid-grass ecosystems they support. RMAD employs protest, education, and litigation to this end.

For more information about prairie dogs and RMAD's efforts on their behalf, see www.rmad.org/prairiedogs.html

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