New Mexico could play role in saving jaguars from extinction, petition says
There is only one jaguar living in the U.S., scientists believe, in Arizona, and New Mexico could be part of the species’ restoration to its historical range in the American West.
Last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service opted to remove New Mexico lands from an area designated as critical habitat for jaguars, which were listed as endangered 1972, shrinking its habitat to be used for reintroduction by about 59,000 acres in the state’s southwest bootheel region.
This included areas in the San Luis and Peloncillo mountain ranges which run into southeast Arizona where the Service maintained its habitat designation for the species.
This was in response to a decision filed in 2021 by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Mexico District Court following a lawsuit by agricultural trade groups the New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau, New Mexico Cattle Grower’s Association and the New Mexico Federal Lands Council.
But in a petition filed Dec. 12, the Center for Biological Diversity the group argued both states were needed for reintroducing jaguars in the U.S. and seeing its population increase to avoid extinction.
The Center argued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, despite listing the species for federal protections 50 years ago, so far failed to adequately protect the species from extinction.
Jaguars are known to dwell in northwest Mexico, the petition read, but lack genetic diversity and are impeded by climate change.
Expanding their range in the U.S. and reintroducing the cats would help restore its population, argued the petition.
“Restoring the jaguar to a small part of its historic range in the U.S. would enrich our southwestern ecosystems, genetically bolster jaguars in Mexico, and show that we love life on earth, even in its fiercest manifestations,” said Michael Robinson with the Center for Biological Diversity.
Gila National Forest in southern New Mexico was proven to have ideal jaguar habitat, the petition argued, and would be