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.

In March 1997, the Arizona Game and Fish Department and New Mexico Department of Game and Fish entered into a Conservation Agreement with other state, local, and federal cooperators, with voluntary participation by many private individuals, to conserve the jaguar (Panthera onca) along borderlands of Arizona and New Mexico and to stimulate parallel efforts in Mexico. Under the Conservation Agreement, an annual evaluation and progress report must be submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The first of these reports was completed in July 1998 and the second in June 2000. This third report is a comprehensive review of all Jaguar Conservation Agreement activities from March 1997 through December 2003. We compiled the information herein with assistance from members of the Jaguar Conservation Team and Jaguar Working Group, to help ensure that objectives outlined in the Conservation Agreement are being accomplished and that any deficiencies identified are addressed and corrective measures are implemented. In this report, we will identify progress, or lack thereof, in accomplishing the goals and objectives set forth by and for the JAGCT for the last 6 years.

Lake Pleasant has historically been regarded as one of the premier largemouth bass (Micropteus salmoides) fisheries in Arizona. However, the quality of the largemouth bass fishery has decreased, resulting in low angler satisfaction and a general concern for the health of the fishery. The leading hypothesis for the cause of this decline is the recent invasion of striped bass (Morone saxatilis), which may be responsible, in part, for the shift in largemouth bass size structure through competition for resources and predation.

The goal of our study was to develop information to help manage aquatic plants in Arizona’s reservoirs to benefit sport fish management activities and angler access. To attain this goal we surveyed aquatic plants in reservoirs throughout Arizona and evaluated if the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s aquatic weed harvesting program was benefiting the fisheries program. Aquatic plant harvesting is probably a worthwhile endeavor to improve angler access and keep our angling customers satisfied. However, we strongly recommend that more effective decontamination procedures be implemented to limit the spread of invasive species

Water developments are a widely used wildlife management tool in the arid Southwest. The ecological effects of those facilities have received little study and remain a source of controversy. We studied direct and indirect effects of wildlife water developments in southwestern Arizona from 1999-2003. Our results did not support hypothesized negative impacts suggested by critics of wildlife water development programs.

In March 1997, the Arizona Game and Fish Department and New Mexico Department of Game and Fish entered into a Conservation Agreement with other state, local, and federal cooperators, with voluntary participation by many private individuals, to conserve the jaguar (Panthera onca) along borderlands of Arizona and New Mexico and to stimulate parallel efforts in Mexico. The agencies believed that if strong partnerships could be developed under this approach, it would be a significant step forward in bringing local governments, private landowners, and nongovernmental organizations directly into jaguar management.

This document embraces two components. First, a Conservation Assessment describes the current status of the jaguar in the United States, and identifies and assesses risks to the jaguar in Arizona and New Mexico. The Assessment focuses the second component, the Conservation Strategy, on reducing or eliminating these threats in Arizona and New Mexico, which might allow for expansion of the range currently occupied by the Arizona subspecies, and thus contribute to promoting recovery of the species.
Information in this document comes primarily from the state level, an approach that considers regional variation and provides a complete habitat and species assessment.

Depending on wildlife species mobility and habitat requirements, we suspect that fire affect species differently, especially on sky islands where whole habitats could be reduced in size or destroyed. We evaluated effects of fire and vegetation destruction on low, moderate, and high mobility wildlife species. Specifically, we focused on the following species or groups: lizards; small mammals, primarily rodents; mid-sized carnivores, specifically gray fox, bobcats, and coyotes; and black bears.