The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced it will seek public comment on a proposal to designate critical habitat for the jaguar under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in portions of southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. Jaguars in the U.S. are part of the northern range of a population that occurs in Mexico.
The areas the Service has identified are primarily in New Mexico, but include some of Arizona.
On March 30, 1972, the Service listed the jaguar as endangered outside of the U.S. in accordance with the Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969. On July 22, 1997, the Service published a final listing rule that extended endangered status for the jaguar into the United States.
The critical habitat proposal follows a ruling in the Arizona District Court that the Service’s previous finding, that designation of critical habitat for the jaguar in the United States would not be prudent, was not legally sufficient.
The Service has identified 838,232 acres in six units in primarily mountainous portions of southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that will be considered for potential critical habitat. These include 547,000 acres of Federal land; 111,741 acres of State of Arizona land; 76,329 acres of Tribal land; and 103,143 acres of private lands. Critical habitat designations have no effect on actions taking place on non-federal lands unless proposed activities involve federal funding or permitting. When this proposal publishes in the Federal Register, a 60-day public comment period will begin.
The proposed critical habitat, which includes areas occupied at the time of listing, as well as areas essential to the conservation of the species, is located in Pima, Santa Cruz, and Cochise Counties, Arizona, and Hidalgo County, New Mexico. The Service has defined occupied areas as those containing both an undisputed jaguar record at the time of listing and the habitat features required by the jaguar, and essential areas to be those that provide connectivity between occupied areas in the U.S. and Mexico.
The Service is seeking comments and information regarding this proposal, including information on how to better understand and characterize the essential habitat features for jaguars in the U.S., as well as special management considerations or protection that may be needed to maintain them.
To ensure that the possible economic impacts of the proposed designation are considered as required under the ESA, the Service is preparing a draft economic analysis. The analysis will be used to inform the development of the final designation of critical habitat for the jaguar. If the Service determines that the designation of any given areas would cause unacceptable economic or other impacts, such areas could ultimately be excluded from the final designation. The Service will publish an announcement and seek public comments on the draft economic analysis when it is completed.
Comments must be received within 60 days, on or before October 19, 2012. For more information on this proposal, how and where to submit comments, and the types of information the Service is seeking, go to http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/arizona/Jaguar.htm. Requests for a public hearing must be submitted within 45 days, on or before, October 4, 2012.