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For Immediate Release
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refusal to create plan to save jaguar forces conservation group to act
Defenders of Wildlife files suit to compel FWS to create a recovery plan for jaguars in the Southwest
TUCSON, Ariz. – Warning that the imperiled population of jaguars in the United States faces serious threat of extinction, Defenders of Wildlife filed suit today in the federal district court of Arizona to overturn a recent decision by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) not to prepare a recovery plan for the endangered jaguar, as required by the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In February, FWS claimed that despite the presence of jaguars in the United States, this cat, the largest and most powerful in the western hemisphere, is a “foreign” species and as such does not qualify for formal recovery planning.
FWS’s action effectively dooms the jaguar to extinction in the U.S. despite the fact that there are individual jaguars in the United States, that there has been an increase in documented occurrences during the last decade, and that large swaths of prime jaguar habitat remain within the southwestern United States.
“It is absolutely mind boggling that FWS has let it get to the point where legal action is necessary to compel them to do their job,” said Jamie Rappaport Clark, executive vice president of Defenders of Wildlife. “When the eagle was in danger of extinction in the United States, FWS didn’t give up and say ‘there are plenty in Canada, so we don’t need them here in the States.’ It doesn’t make sense that the agency would be willing to let the jaguar fade from the Southwest just because there is a larger population across the border.”
FWS’s decision to deny recovery plan protections for the jaguar is the latest example of an increasingly common trend by the Bush administration to refuse full ESA protections for imperiled species whose ranges extend beyond our borders into Mexico, Canada and other nations. Many threatened or endangered species, including bald eagles, grizzly bears, gray wolves, Canada lynx, and woodland caribou, have significant ranges outside of the United States. Under previous administrations, FWS has prepared recovery plans for all of these species. In light of the myriad of threats faced by jaguars within the United States, FWS’s decision that the jaguar is a “foreign” species not deserving of a recovery plan would greatly increase its chances of domestic extinction, an outcome that is plainly at odds with the letter and spirit of the ESA.
Recovery plans serve as a basic road map to achieve the ESA’s ultimate goal of recovering imperiled species by identifying the threats to their existence and the actions needed to stop and reverse their slide towards extinction.
“Animals do not recognize man-made political boundaries,” said Clark. “They do not know whether they are in the United States, Mexico or Canada, but they do know a good home when they see one. This cross-our-fingers-and-hope approach to conserving cross-border species could result in the U.S. losing some of the most amazing species on the planet.”
According to Defenders, FWS has failed to respond to repeated calls over the last decade from scientists requesting that the wildlife agency develop a recovery plan for the American jaguar, as required by law. Most recently, in 2007, the prestigious American Society of Mammologists issued a resolution stating “jaguars continue to decline throughout significant portions of their remaining range” and “habitats for jaguars in the United States, including Arizona and New Mexico, are vital to the long-term resilience and survival of the species.”
“Biologists have been celebrating the jaguar’s return to the American Southwest. Yet our government is for all intents declaring the jaguar to be a ‘tourist,’ and is giving up on preserving the jaguar, which is a beloved symbol of the Southwest,” said Craig Miller, Southwest representative for Defenders of Wildlife. “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has the duty to protect and recover imperiled wildlife, but when they ignore science for politics, citizens must ensure that wildlife laws are upheld. The future of America’s jaguars is at stake.”
Learn more about what Defenders is doing to save the jaguar.
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Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than 1 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit www.defenders.org.
