Feds Set Aside Habitat In Southwest For Jaguar

Federal wildlife officials are setting aside nearly 1,200 square miles in the American Southwest as critical habitat for the jaguar. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced its decision Tuesday. The area includes parts of Pima, Santa Cruz and Cochise counties in Arizona and Hidalgo County in New Mexico. The area was chosen, because it has ideal prey such as deer and javelina. The cat’s habitat is in Latin America, but it extends up into southern Arizona and New Mexico. There has not been a jaguar sighting in New Mexico in eight years, and federal biologists are aware of only one male jaguar that frequents southern Arizona. The critical designation means anyone developing federal land in the area needs to consult the service to ensure it will not hurt the jaguar’s habitat. The designation goes into effect next month. Still, the agency said setting aside land will contribute to the cat's recovery across its entire range, which stretches into South America. Environmental groups filed a series of lawsuits seeking to protect the jaguar, but critics argue that critical habitat in the U.S. isn't essential to the cat's survival. Jaguars were placed on the federal endangered species list in 1997.  AP