Kristine’s Inner Circle

RIP Macho B

Jaguars once ranged as far north as the Grand Canyon — but only a few have been documented in the U.S. since 1971.

One in particular — a 16-year-old dubbed Macho B — was the most photographed jaguar in the U.S.

Late last month, Macho B was inadvertently caught during a research project, and Arizona Department of Game and Fish officials took the opportunity to fit him with a GPS collar. Researchers were excited at the prospect of studying the behavior of jaguars in the U.S. based on the data that Macho B would send back.

But that excitement turned to sadness. Days later, Macho B had to be euthanized when it was determined that he was suffering from terminal kidney failure.

Our fight for U.S. jaguars lives on. Later this month, Defenders will be in court to force federal officials to develop a recovery plan for U.S. jaguars — a move the Bush Administration refused to take on.

Read more about Macho B on our website.

Adopt a jaguar or one of 23 other animals from Defenders Wildlife Adoption Center and help support our fight to save jaguars like Macho B and other wildlife in need.

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Action of the Month

Fighting on for Prairie Dogs and Ferrets

In an ongoing battle on the Kansas prairie, wildlife-friendly ranchers Larry & Bette Haverfield and neighboring landowners Gordon & Martha Barnhardt and Maxine Blank are resisting Logan County Commissioners who want to forcefully poison the state’s largest prairie dog complex on their land — a move that would put highly endangered black-footed ferrets and other wildlife at risk.Last month, a county judge in Kansas upheld a restraining order that protects most of the 10,000-acre ranch from poisoning — all but a depth of 90 feet around the perimeter. For now, the majority of the ranchers’ land — and the prairie dogs and ferrets it supports — remain safe.But in retaliation, County Commissioners ordered the poisoning of the 90-foot buffer area — and stuck the wildlife-friendly ranchers and landowners with a bill reaching into the thousands of dollars.These landowners have already spent tens of thousands of dollars on previous Commissioner-forced poisonings and court costs to fight for their piece of the American prairie and the wildlife that depends on it.

Take action now — Send a message of support to the Barnhardts, Haverfields and Mrs. Blank for their ongoing fight to save prairie dogs, black-footed ferrets and the grassland ecosystem on their land.

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Defenders Updates

Roadmap for Your Lands, Wildlife
Defenders, conservation partners and sportsmen’s organizations have released a report that details a strategy to ensure healthy wildlife on public lands. The report is part of our Your Lands, Your Wildlife campaign aimed at safeguarding fish and wildlife on the 449 million acres of woods, grasslands, mountains and canyon lands belonging to the American people. The campaign kicked off last month with an essay contest focusing on memorable encounters with fish and wildlife on public lands (see article below on the grand prize winner).
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Wolf-Friendly Rancher Wins!
Lava Lake Land & Livestock — a wildlife-friendly livestock producer — won the U.S. Forest Service’s prestigious National Rangeland Management Award. The outfit was recognized for its innovative, conservation-friendly grazing practices, including its use of non-lethal wolf control that protects sheep and wolves on the range. Lava Lake was a key partner in the Big Wood River Valley Wolf Project — Defenders of Wildlife’s largest on-the-ground effort to protect wolves and livestock.
>> Learn More Missing Link for Lynx Recovery
Thanks to years of legal work by Defenders and our allies nationwide, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service just announced the protection of 25 million acres of lynx habitat from Maine to Washington State. While the decision fell short in some key areas–such as excluding important lynx habitat in Colorado–it is one of the largest “critical habitat” designations in the history of the Endangered Species Act, and significantly boosts our ability to protect some of the most important lynx habitat in the lower 48.

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Your Lands, Your Wildlife

Grand Prize for Priceless Memories

It’s the story of perhaps the biggest, baddest cutthroat trout in the Upper Copper River. And although the memories of that July morning may be priceless for Ian Havlick and his brother, his story earned him the grand prize in Defenders’ Your Lands, Your Wildlife essay contest.

In his winning story, Havlick — an avid fly-fisherman and cross-country skier — describes in vivid detail a fishing expedition in Idaho’s Salmon-Challis National Forest, and his passion for the outdoors clearly shines through.

Of the hundreds of stories submitted, six were chosen as winners with Havlick’s earning the grand prize: $1,000 in REI gift cards. But all of the stories entered in the contest illustrate exactly why our wildlife living on public lands is so important.

Read Ian’s grand prize winning story — and the other winning essays — at the Your Lands, Your Wildlife web site.