Animal Law Digest

After a 90-day review, the USFWS published its findings that Rosemont Copper Company’s November 11, 2020, petition to reduce the designated critical habitat for jaguars in Arizona by 50,000 acres was not scientifically justified. The Endangered Species Act requires USFWS to make adjustments to the designated critical habitats for protected species to reflect changes in the best available scientific data. USFWS found that the existing scientific data about jaguars, which have been listed as endangered since 1972, does not warrant reduction in their protected habitat area in Arizona at this time. The petitioner is seeking to reduce the designated habitat in order to proceed with a proposed mining project. The company also is challenging the habitat designation in court.