Feds To Set Aside Lands For Jaguars
Boy, this could have some serious implications. Maybe a reader can weigh in with some possible scenarios?
Read the full article here: Feds to set aside habitat for jaguar recovery
By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN
Associated Press WriterALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday it will set aside critical habitat for the endangered jaguar and develop a recovery plan for the elusive animal once thought to have disappeared from the United States.
The agency said it will review which lands the big cats need to survive and will put together a plan by early next year to help the species recover.
Conservationists had been anxiously awaiting the decisions on the recovery plan and critical habitat since last Friday, when a federal court had imposed a deadline for the agency. The court granted a last-minute extension, giving the Fish and Wildlife Service until the end of Tuesday.
“This is a huge boost for recovery because it means the best scientists and best minds on how to conserve jaguars will come together and figure out how to restore them onto our landscapes,” said Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups that has been seeking critical habitat for the jaguar for more than a decade.
Robinson and other conservationists saw the case as a test of whether the Obama administration would take extra steps to protect animals whose ranges stretch beyond the nation’s borders.
The largest cats native to the Western hemisphere, jaguars live primarily in Mexico, Central and South America. They once inhabited an extensive area that spanned California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Louisiana.
Read the rest of the article at the link above….
