Group plans suit over lack of jackrabbit protection

White-sided jackrabbits are long and lean and so rare that only about 60 remain in the United States. The last of them live in the bootheel of New Mexico. Drought, diminishing grasslands in the Chihuahuan Desert and even vehicles traveling border roads have depleted the white-sided jackrabbit's already slim numbers. But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, finding that this jackrabbit is more plentiful in Mexico than in America, declined to list it as a threatened or endangered species. In turn, a Santa Fe-based group called WildEarth Guardians has filed notice that it intends to sue the federal agency for failing to enforce the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The Fish and Wildlife service has until mid-June to respond to the threatened lawsuit. Nicole Rosmarino, a biologist with WildEarth Guardians, said the dispute is probably headed for a federal courthouse. "They could reconsider the decision on the jackrabbit. But that usually does not happen, so we will definitely take them to court," Rosmarino said. New Mexico lists the white-sided jackrabbit as a threatened species. The state listing protects the animal from hunters in New Mexico, but there is no prohibition against shooting the jackrabbit in Mexico. "It's bad policy to rely on another country to protect this species," Rosmarino said. "If it were doing well in Mexico, that might be one thing. But it's not. It's in trouble there too."...more