Jaguars No Longer Have Protected Land in New Mexico

[douglas9]

(CN) — A federal judge ruled Wednesday that two sections of land in New Mexico should no longer be designated as critical habitat for jaguars.

In 2014, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated six areas as critical habitat for jaguars, including portions of Arizona and New Mexico, based on sightings of jaguars in those areas.

Wild jaguars have been spotted and photographed in Southern Arizona and Hidalgo County, New Mexico, though the species is generally associated with tropical climates.

In 2015, New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau, New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association and New Mexico Federal Lands Council sued the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

They challenged the government’s designation of critical habitat, claiming there are no proven breeding populations in the United States and that the open, dry areas of New Mexico would be of marginal benefit to jaguars, at the extreme edges of their known range.

https://www.courthousenews.com/jaguars-no-longer-have-protected-land-in-new-mexico/