...The furor over Macho B’s death — publicly blamed on McCain as a rogue
biologist — persists to this day. Yet the truth about his demise has
remained hidden for nearly three years. An Arizona Republic investigation revealed that Macho B was
caught and killed in a web of intrigue involving environmental politics,
border security, greed and scientific egos. According to investigative files, state wildlife employees were
complicit in the exotic cat’s capture, motivated in part by their quest
for government research funds that were being offered to study the
impact of a border fence on wildlife. Documents obtained under public-records laws also reveal that the
federal government’s “jaguar lead,” the person responsible for
protecting the endangered cat, was advised that snares were set in Macho
B’s territory. During a criminal probe, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
investigators wrote that she obstructed justice and committed fraud by
deleting evidence from her computers. She was not prosecuted or
disciplined in connection with Macho B’s death. Records make it clear that the saga of Macho B continues: Some of
those directly involved in his demise are today profiting as contractors
from a $771,000 Homeland Security grant to survey and conserve jaguars
along the U.S.-Mexico border. Their work, financed by U.S. taxpayers,
could result in new regulations and policies for public land in southern
Arizona and might influence border- security efforts. That project is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
“jaguar lead,” Erin Fernandez, who was involved in Macho B’s case. She
declined comment. The federal agency and the University of Arizona,
which won the contract, both refuse to discuss their research and
withheld key records. When Macho B was captured, Arizona Game and Fish officials first
claimed the jaguar accidentally stepped into a research snare set for
lions and bears. At the same time, they celebrated the event as an opportunity for
conservation. In theory, biologists tracking a jaguar’s movement via
radio collar would better understand the animal’s behavior and habitat
needs. So Game and Fish administrators sent e-mails of congratulations
and gratitude to McCain and others who took part in Macho B’s capture. But the 16-year-old cat, perhaps the oldest jaguar ever documented in
the wild, faltered from his stressful encounter with humans. After 12
days, he was recaptured and euthanized based on a diagnosis of kidney
failure. A guilt-ridden Brun went to the media, divulging the truth: Macho B
had been intentionally lured into the snare. With the government’s first
narrative debunked, state wildlife officials put forth a second story
asserting that McCain had acted without the agency’s approval or
sanction, and had duped the department employees who helped him...more
Some of
those directly involved in his demise are today profiting as contractors
from a $771,000 Homeland Security grant to survey and conserve jaguars
along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Department of Interior is ripping off Homeland Security as funds meant for border security are transferred to Interior for wildlife and other studies. The result? One dead jaguar. Why?
Terry Johnson, former endangered-species coordinator for the state
Game and Fish Department, said he believes Macho B was captured because
researchers got caught up in the quest for prestige and a federal “pot
of gold” being offered for studies of jaguar transborder movements. “I think everything boils down to two things: One is ego and the
other is money,” said Johnson. “When the (U.S.-Mexico) border fence
started to go up, and the prospect of millions of dollars to support
(wildlife-research) projects went up, then immediately the interest was
broadened.” “I do believe there was intent ... to capture Macho B, and in turn to influence the issuance of those monies.”
This whole jaguar thing stinks, from Macho B to the designation of critical habitat. When will we have an investigation into the shenanigans involved in the critical habitat designation?
Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship.
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