We can successfully reintroduce native predators, but can we protect them?
Wednesday October 13, 2021
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A rare male jaguar captured by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service camera in Arizona's Santa Rita Mountains, USFWS, Flickr
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When you think of jaguars, you probably think of the lush rainforests of South America, not the American Southwest. But it turns out, jaguars—which are listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—once roamed the southern edge of the United States from present-day Louisiana to California. Now, just two jaguars are thought to exist in the U.S. That's according to a story in Vox about a burgeoning movement to reintroduce jaguars to Arizona and New Mexico.
New research finds up to 150 jaguars could survive in a 20-million-acre swath of Arizona and New Mexico, and restoring the animals to their natural habitat could help the species survive. But the idea is not without its detractors, many of whom come from within the wildlife conservation movement itself. They say resources are better spent on saving jaguars in South America, where they are more plentiful. Then, of course, there are the ranchers, who worry restoration will erode their property rights and threaten their livestock.
Still, it's worth a try, according to Sharon Wilcox, a field conservationist with Defenders of Wildlife. “This is historic habitat, and a large predator has enormous benefits to an ecosystem,” she said, like keeping white-tailed and mule deer in check.
Meanwhile, in Idaho
Federal officials in Idaho have killed eight wolf pups that belonged to a pack Boise high school students have been studying since 2003. Biologists who track the Timberline Pack noticed its den was empty in the spring.
“I understand a lot of people think wolves are dangerous animals,” Michel Liao, a student at Timberline High, told The Washington Post. “But it was so shocking to see that federal agents were the ones to come into a pups’ den to kill them, even though the pups didn’t do anything.”
In fact, the pups were killed to teach their parents a lesson, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services branch. It said the pack was attacking livestock, and killing the pups will encourage it to relocate.
The deaths coincide with a change in state law, passed this spring, that allows hunters to kill up to 90% of the state's wolf population, estimated at 1,500 wolves. And that's not all, Idaho will pay hunters who kill wolves up to $2,000 per wolf, depending on location.
Gray wolves were removed from the endangered species list under former president Trump, opening the door to these killings. The Biden administration is reconsidering the move. But wolf advocates, tribes and environmental groups say it may not come in time to prevent devastation to the species, which is still struggling to gain a foothold in the Western U.S.
After all, hunters may have already killed off the only wolves in Colorado, following the sighting of a pack in 2020. Only months after its discovery, state wildlife officials said three members of the pack were likely shot just across the border in Wyoming.
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Renewable industry in Utah has generated $5.3 billion
Deseret News
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The controversial plan to reintroduce jaguars in the U.S.
Vox
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Feds kill wolf pups from a pack that high school students have studied for years
Washington Post
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Environmental groups seek to save the Great Salt Lake—by buying water rights
Fox 13
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Tribes ask Interior to improve designation process for "areas of critical environmental concern"
E&E News
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Meet the man getting rich off of dying oil wells
Bloomberg
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Drought-stricken Western towns are saying "no" to developers
Stateline
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7 statistics that shed light on the West's housing crisis
High Country News
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 I find it rather offensive when they accuse me or my co-workers as being some sort of monster that doesn’t care about these animals ... Every BLM employee I have ever met … we care about these animals, we care about these horses.”
—Brad Purdy, a BLM spokesman from Cheyenne, Wyoming, WyoFile |
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Join @Interior for upcoming listening sessions focusing on barriers that underserved communities & individuals may face participating in outdoor opportunities on #publiclands. Oct. 19, Oct. 21, Oct. 25, Oct. 26, and Oct. 27. Learn more & register http://ow.ly/q3Xx50GqmYE.
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