The jaguar (Panthera onca) was first listed under the under the Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969, and in 1997, was subsequently designated as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 197 3. The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) Southwest Region has the lead for

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recovery of this species.

The jaguar was addressed in Listed Cats of Texas and Arizona Recovery Plan (with Emphasis on the Ocelot) (U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1990), but only general information and recommendations to assess jaguar status in the U. S. and Mexico, and protect and manage occupied and potential habitat in the U.S., were presented.

No specific recovery actions or recovery criteria for the jaguar were presented.

As such, the Service is currently working to develop a recovery strategy and plan for the jaguar with emphasis on the species in the northern portion of its range.

To initiate and inform this effort, the Service will work with the award recipient and the Jaguar Recovery Team (Team) to develop georeferenced spatial data layers specific to the northern jaguar in a customized geographic information system database.

Additionally, the award recipient will prepare habitat models based on the input of the Service and the Team.

The layers and the models will be used by the Service to develop a recovery strategy for the jaguar as well as help inform the Service’s determination of critical habitat for the jaguar in the U.S.