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And the Government don’t care, building a fence usefull like the Maginot line and the Berlin wall. What will a property being worth if you can say: We have jaguar’s here? Bush Administration’s Inaction Pushes Jaguar Closer to Extinction in US Defenders of Wildlife promises suit over Bush administration refusal to create a recovery plan for jaguar WASHINGTON, DC - March 11 - Defenders of Wildlife has filed a notice of intent to sue in Washington D.C. district court to compel the Bush administration to create a recovery plan for jaguars in the Southwest. In February, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) stated that it would not be drafting a recovery plan for the jaguar, claiming that despite the presence of jaguars in the United States and the existence of large swaths of prime jaguar habitat, this big cat is biologically a “foreign” species and as such does not qualify for formal recovery planning. “The jaguar is as American a species as the bald eagle,” said Craig Miller, southwest representative of Defenders of Wildlife. “When the eagle was in danger of extinction in the United States, we 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.” Defenders is considering legal action in this instance not only because FWS has a responsibility to protect this particular species, but also because there are many other species in the United States with populations that exist both here and across borders in Mexico, Canada and other nations. Some of these species, including sea turtles, grizzly bears, woodland caribou and numerous bird species, are threatened or endangered and thus require a recovery plan which provides a road map to achieving healthy, sustainable populations. “The Bush administration’s decision to forgo creating a recovery plan for the jaguar sets a dangerous precedent for all threatened and endangered species that live along our borders,” said Jamie Rappaport Clark, executive vice president for Defenders of Wildlife and former director of FWS. “Animals do not recognize man-made political boundaries. 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 species along the U.S. borders could result in us giving up on keeping some of the most amazing species on the planet around for all Americans to enjoy.” 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.” “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,” said Miller. From. http://exitstageright.wordpress.com/2008...tinction-in-us/ And this it the truth about this national treasue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhxxP40G-ac A rare wild jaguar seen and photographed in the United States by hunter Warner Glenn SANTA RITA MOUNTAINS, Arizona (Reuters) - Jaguar biologist Emil McCain stoops over a remote-sensing camera attached to a tree in these rugged mountains a few miles to the north of the Arizona-Mexico border. The researcher is checking for images of a handful of extremely rare jaguars that prowl up from Mexico over mountain trails in some of the wildest country in the southwest, although they are now under threat.Scrolling through images of bobcats and deer snapped by thecamera, he explains how the habitat for one of the United States' most elusive predators is being pressured by illegal immigration from Mexico and the controversial remedies sought by the U.S. government to curb it: building fences.Jaguars are powerful, solitary hunters that were revered byancient cultures including the Aztecs and the Maya who believed they had supernatural powers. They roam over a vast habitat ranging from northern Argentina in the south to the rugged, borderland wildernesses of Arizona and New Mexico, although they are rarely seen.The sturdy, spotted cats -- which are the only roaring felines in the Americas -- were believed to have become extinct in the United States until an Arizona rancher photographed one he encountered while hunting mountain lions in the far southwest corner of New Mexico in 1996."It was unforgettable, probably the most exciting day I have had in my life," Warner Glenn said of his brush with the burly, roaring male jaguar, which his hounds briefly brought to bay on a pillar of rock in the Peloncillo Mountains.Proof positive of their presence in the United States wasgained six months later when another Arizona cougar hunter, Jack Childs, treed and photographed a second jaguar in the distant reaches of the Baboquivari Mountains southwest of Tucson."They were on the brink of extirpation and to find out they were still here was a really great thing," Childs said of the animal, another male, which his hounds chased up into an alligator juniper tree."It was indescribable, a life-changing experience. We tipped our hats to it, thanked it for the experience and it went on its way."Neither jaguars were harmed. The photographs taken by Glenn and Childs helped win federal protection for the animals as an endangered species the following year and stirred interest from researchers eager to find out about their population and movements. from: http://www.nowpublic.com/environment/rar...er-warner-glenn |