Flickr photo by Jerry Oldenettel.

The recent Jaguar sightings come at a time when a few local policy battles could determine the size and scope of the species US habitat. After years of lawsuits and controversey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently issued a plan to recover the endangered species to its historic US terrain. FWS proposed designating 838,232 acres as critical jaguar habitat—covering four stretches of mountains in southeastern Arizona, a section of the Peloncillo Mountains on the Arizona–New Mexico border, and a tiny piece of New Mexico’s San Luis Mountains.

In addition to this ongoing controversy over critical habitat there also exists a potentially frightening roadblock to the Jaguar recovery as well as other species such as the Chiricahua leopard frog. Not too far from where this recent photo was taken is a pending proposal to develop a large scale copper mine. Rosemont, the local subsidiary of a Canadian mining corporation, is requesting permits to dig a mile-wide, half-mile deep pit and dump waste rock and tailings on more than 3,000 acres of National Forest land.

The draft Environmental Impact Statement  lists 27 imperiled plants and animals that would be directly harmed by the mine, including the jaguar. It says that the proposed action would directly destroy more than 6,000 acres of wildlife habitat and negatively affect another 90,000 acres. It describes significantly elevated levels of air and water pollutants associated with the mine, including greenhouse gases, and it states that groundwater impacts would dry up 84 springs and diminish or eliminate the flow of important perennial streams.

In addition to these issues highlighted by the Forest Service draft EIS,  EPA and DEQ have also issued concerns including:  Serious impacts to drinking water to local residents, potential violations to Arizona aquifer water quality standards as well as issues with 11 Indian Tribes. The mine site is alleged to contain up to 80 cultural sites, including burial sites, that must be considered and mitigated according to the National Historic Preservation Act.

Utah mine similar to Rosemont Mine proposed in Arizona- photo Earthworks

In this dry arid environment where water is arguably more precious than any metal, Rosemont Copper is proposing to dump untreated mining waste on 10–15 miles of streams and desert springs.

If you care about clean water and responsible energy development, and if you care about helping the endangered species such as the jaguar recover, please speak up today and ask the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers to prevent mining companies such as Rosemont Copper from endangering our fish, wildlife, and communities with industrial pollution.

Let’s give wildlife a fighting chance!

Speak up to protect jaguars, grizzlies, and many more wildlife from toxic mine pollution.

February 4, 2013 correction: This post was updated to better reflect the historic reasons for the decline of jaguars in North America, and to provide a broader view of the environmental and cultural impacts of the proposed mine. It was also changed to correctly attribute the recent jaguar photograph.

Staghorn coral (center) on healthy patch reef

My friends at the Endangered Species Coalition have produced an excellent new report called It’s Getting Hot Out There: Top 10 Places to Save for Endangered Species in a Warming World. As the title suggests, ESC identified 10 ecosystems that it believes will be the most important to conserve to help wildlife survive global warming.

Considering that wildlife is threatened by global warming, habitat destruction and other factors in virtually every corner of the planet, deciding as a national or international organization where to focus your conservation effort is never an easy task.  No single approach works for every organization.

The ESC picked 10 ecosystems with U.S. species listed under the Endangered Species Act.  That makes sense because defending the Endangered Species Act, and especially its provisions protecting U.S. species and their habitats, is a primary focus of that organization.

In contrast, internationally-oriented groups such as Conservation International prioritize so-called “biodiversity hotspots” around the globe, areas with especially high numbers of endemic species.

As someone who works for an organization with a large U.S. membership, as well as state and territorial affiliates who meet annually to set its conservation policy, my work tends to gravitate toward helping local activists and state affiliates save the special places and treasured wildlife where they live. I’m always on the look-out for evidence from National Wildlife Federation’s constituents about what resources they value most.  Oftentimes these places indeed serve as habitat for species listed under the Endangered Species Act and can safely be called biodiversity hotspots.  For example, Hawai’i has by far the greatest number of ESA-listed threatened and endangered species of all the states.  NWF’s state affiliate, the Conservation Council for Hawai’i, deserves kudos for contributing to the ESC report and helping to bring national attention to that state’s unique and wonderful native flora and fauna.

However, a strategy of tapping into the energy, wisdom and passion of individuals and organizations working on the front lines of conservation means that biodiversity hotspots is not always the priority.

Most people prioritize the places they know and love, such as the streams and forests in and around their communities or the beaches and lakes they visit on their summer vacations, regardless of their richness in endemic species.  That’s fine with me, I’m with them.

There’s no more powerful force than a group of activists organized to save a treasured place in their community.

If we at NWF can tap into that energy and contribute our expertise and resources, we can not only help our partners succeed with their local objectives, but also help them see the benefits of joining the network of conservationists working together to achieve positive change at broader scales.

By the way, one of the other places featured in the ESC report is the Arctic (not a biodiversity hotspot), where polar bears and other treasured wildlife species are threatened by declining sea ice and oil and gas development.  If you are one of those activists who already likes the idea of helping threatened wildlife outside your local community, you should know that an effort is underway to permanently protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil and gas drilling.  Show your support for protecting the Arctic Refuge >>