Dear Guardian,
We’re jumping
for joy here at WildEarth Guardians because after years of delay, the New
Mexico meadow jumping mouse is finally receiving Endangered Species Act
protection.
In response to a 2008 WildEarth Guardians’
petition and as scheduled in our historic settlement resolving the backlog of species
awaiting protections, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalized the listing
this week.
The meadow jumping mouse depends on healthy
streamside habitats as the
species lives within feet of perennial streams with enough lush, dense
streamside vegetation to provide food and shelter. The meadow jumping mouse has
the longest known hibernation period of any animal: eight to nine months per
year. This long hibernation period makes suitable habitat even more critical
for the jumping mouse because they must eat enough food in the three to four months
they are active to last the full year.
The stream
and wetland habitats to which the meadow jumping mouse is uniquely adapted are seriously
threatened by grazing, stream de-watering, wildfire and climate change.
Native
to Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona, meadow jumping mice populations today
occur in only 30 small, isolated populations along high mountain streams.
The most important thing we can do to protect
the jumping mouse and the ecosystems they call home is to eliminate grazing
from precious streamside habitats on
public lands. This week’s listing decision will not only give this rare and special
species a fighting chance to survive, but also protect ensure cleaner water and
protect dozens of other imperiled species.
For the Wild,
