Media mogul Ted Turner will be honored during a banquet in Boulder later this month as “Prairie Dog Protector of the Year.”

The Humane Society of the United States’ Prairie Dog Coalition announced today that Turner will be honored as a special guest at the organization’s seventh annual Living on Burrowed Time fundraising gala on Oct. 28 at the St. Julien Hotel ballroom.

The fundraiser honors people who have helped protect prairie dogs.

Turner will be honored for his work to restore native wildlife populations.

Turner’s ranches contain more than 11,000 restored acres home to more than 150,000 prairie dogs.

Turner also chairs numerous foundations and businesses including the Turner Foundation which supports improvement of air and water quality, developing sustainable energy to protect earth’s climate, safeguarding environmental health, curbing population growth and protecting wildlife habitats.

“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,” Turner said in the released announcement.

Tickets for the banquet include a four-course gourmet dinner, organic wines, videos, and live and silent auctions. The cost is $100 per ticket when bought in advance or by mail-in card, or $150 at the door.

Funds from ticket sales will go directly toward improving prairie dog management plans and field projects.