SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Wildlife managers under the Trump administration are moving to loosen contentious endangered-species protections for Utah prairie dogs, flipping the script in a face off over federal policies.

A new U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan would allow prairie dogs to be killed or removed from private property, relaxing federal regulations designed to protect the threatened species.

The agency said Wednesday the plan will preserve the prairie-dog numbers while helping southern Utah residents who say regulations allowed the burrowing creatures to overrun their town.

But the group Friends of Animals says the new federal plan is “essentially a death warrant” for the creatures. They previously joined the agency to keep tighter protections in place.

The new conservation plan is up for public comment for the next 30 days.