Whether reintroduction and recovery should be allowed, and if so where and how, were hotly debated through the 1990s, when reintroduction was formally proposed. They still are. Regardless, the proposal process ended with a nonessential experimental population rule (hereafter Final Rule) approved on January 12, 1998. In keeping with the stated experimental nature of the reintroduction effort, and respectful of the doubts expressed by many, the Final Rule required full evaluations after 3 and 5 years to recommend continuation, modification, or termination of the Reintroduction Project. The 3-Year Review, conducted in 2001, concluded that reintroduction should continue, albeit with important modifications. However, as we discuss elsewhere in this report, for many reasons the 3-Year Review recommendations were not implemented, at least not to the extent that interested parties and stakeholders expected or desired. Regardless of cause, the apparent lack of closure was a significant agency and public concern when the time came for the next review.

By agreement among the primary cooperating agencies, responsibility for the Reintroduction Project’s 5-Year Review fell to the Mexican Wolf Blue Range Adaptive Management Oversight Committee (AMOC) that oversees the Project on behalf of six Lead Agencies and various formal and informal Cooperator agencies. AMOC and the Project's Interagency Field Team conducted the 5-Year Review to comply with the Final Rule, but above and beyond that the intent was to identify and implement improvements in the Project. The Review consists of several primary components: Administrative, Technical, Socioeconomic, and Recommendations. Each is detailed in this report. Review and adaptive management of the Reintroduction Project will not stop with this review. Project cooperators will continue to seek internal and public input regarding Mexican wolf reintroduction to help achieve recovery goals and objectives.

The Jaguar Conservation Agreement provides opportunities and incentives for interested parties to become involved with conservation activities. These activities include collection of biological information (to provide a sound scientific basis for decisions); consideration of relevant cultural, economic, and political factors; design and implementation of a comprehensive approach to conservation (including public education); and monitoring, evaluation, and feedback. This summary will focus on the mapping efforts and make recommendations to the Jaguar Conservation Team on conservation measures for potential jaguar habitat.

This report utilizes criteria developed by the Habitat Subcommittee of the Jaguar Conservation Team to identify suitable jaguar habitat in New Mexico. In July 2003, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish also issued a report on jaguar habitat, along with accompanying maps.4 However, in an August 2004 meeting of the Habitat Subcommittee in Albuquerque, members who were present during the development of the habitat criteria between 1998 and 2000 reviewed the New Mexico report, concluded it was based on criteria different from those they had agreed to, further noted that it explicitly refrained from identifying suitable jaguar habitat, and decided not to forward it to the Jaguar Conservation Team as fulfilling the conservation assessment and strategy’s intent. The present document is intended to complete the process of identifying suitable jaguar habitat in the two states preparatory to coordinating protection of those habitats.

One goal of the SDCP was to obtain a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act to enable incidental take of species protected by the ESA in the course of development in Pima County. This report provides the county with the framework to go forward and further its analysis of the final funding costs for a Section 10 Permit.

The southwestern United States and Sonora, Mexico are the extreme northern limits of the jaguar’s (Panthera onca) range, which primarily extends from central Mexico south through Central and South America to northern Argentina. Recently, the jaguar ranged as far north as Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Over the last century, the jaguar’s range has been reduced to approximately 46% of its historic range due to hunting pressure and habitat loss. The greatest loss of occupied range has occurred in the southern United States, northern Mexico, northern Brazil, and southern Argentina. Since 1900, jaguars have been documented occasionally in the southwestern United States, but the number of sightings per decade has declined over the last 100 years with only 4 verified sightings between 1970 and 2000. The objectives of our analysis were twofold: (1) characterize potential jaguar habitat in Arizona from historic sighting records, and (2) create a statewide habitat suitability map.

The Mexican gray wolf subspecies was listed as endangered in 1976. In 1998 a nonessential experimental population was established in New Mexico and Arizona. Eleven captive-born and reared animals were released into the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area. In June 2007, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service contracted with D.J. Case and Associates to assist in planning and implementing public input for a scoping process to identify issues to consider in developing alternatives preparatory to development of a new Environmental Impact Statement for the Mexican gray wolf introduction program.

Two additional sets of fact sheets that describe the threatened, endangered, and priority vulnerable species of Pima County. For each plant or animal there is a physical description and full color illustration. The habitat, range, diet, status, and history of each species is also outlined. These fact sheets will be widely distributed through the youth participation program.

Fact sheets that describe the threatened, endangered and priority vulnerable species of Pima County. For each plant or animal there is a physical description and full color illustration. The habitat, range, diet, status, and history of each species is also outlined. These fact sheets will be widely distributed through the youth participation program.

Certain concepts related to the environment, particularly the conservation of biological and cultural resources, have been integrated into the Comprehensive Land Use Plan of Pima County. The attached cost model has been prepared to frame the issue of the estimated cost of Endangered Species Act compliance under the present planning model.

Species re-establishment is the attempt to establish a species in an area which was once part of its historical range, but from which it has been extirpated or become extinct in the wild. Pima County and other agencies have proposed to re-establish species at a number of sites. Relevant laws and regulations governing re-establishment efforts are discussed. Case studies illustrate how previous efforts have been conducted and how the populations have fared.