Protecting Jaguar Habitat in the Southwest: An Update on Our Legal Work
Our organization has been engaged in active litigation to protect critical wildlife habitat within several canyon systems of the Chiricahua Mountains — an area that serves as important territory for jaguars, spotted owls, and other imperiled species.
At issue is a Forest Service project that would expand road access into three canyon areas: John Long Canyon, North Fork of Pinery Canyon, and Horseshoe Canyon. We believe this project poses unacceptable risks to sensitive wildlife, including potential disturbance to jaguar movement corridors and nesting birds, as well as increased fire risk.
We pursued settlement discussions with the Federal Defendants in good faith, proposing common sense measures such as seasonal road closures aligned with hunting seasons, fire risk protections, and stronger monitoring requirements tied to jaguar activity. Unfortunately, the agency rejected these proposals and indicated it does not see a path to settlement.
On a positive note, the Forest Service has agreed to install protective gates limiting vehicle access to part of the John Long Canyon road during the breeding season.
CRC will continue to provide updates on this ongoing legal effort to protect habitat where these extraordinary cats belong.
