Defenders of Wildlife
Saturday, March 7th, 2009
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RIP Macho B |
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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.
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Action of the Month |
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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.
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Defenders Updates |
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| Lobos Hold Steady Wolf numbers in Arizona and New Mexico held steady at 52 in 2008 after declining in three of the last four years, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s annual survey. Unfortunately, breeding pairs were down from four in 2007 to only two. “It’s a relief to see that the overall number of Mexican wolves hasn’t gone down, but we can’t continue to lose breeding pairs,” said Eva Sargent Defenders’ Director of Southwest Programs. “If Mexican wolves are to have a real chance to avoid extinction, the Fish and Wildlife Service must make recovery a priority by keeping more wolves on the ground and finding new ways to avoid removing wolves.” >>Learn More Roadmap for Your Lands, Wildlife Wolf-Friendly Rancher Wins! Tally for Turtles |
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Your Lands, Your Wildlife |
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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. |
