In its much too long journey through the byzantine maze of environmental regulations, Rosemont Copper has endured much in its quest to permit an open pit copper mine in the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson.
Since both jaguars and ocelots are transients, there should be no impact on the species as a whole because most jaguars and ocelots live south of the U.S.
Rosemont was scheduled to receive final approval from the Forest Service this month; now that has been delayed because of the new ocelot sightings. Both cats were covered in the approved Environmental Impact Statement and mitigation for the jaguar would necessarily cover the ocelot. I don’t understand why FWS considers the recent sighting significant. I also find the timing suspicious. Was the sighting really of a wild ocelot? I notice that several websites advertise ocelots for sale, although it is probably illegal. I have no proof of a planted cat, but, as I said, the timing is suspicious.
So, in a cynical vein, I predict that some other desert cats will miraculously appear in the Santa Rita Mountains: the jaguarundi and possibly the margay.
The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum had a jaguarundi on display, but when it passed the museum decided to not get another one because they no longer represented a fauna of the Sonoran Desert. ASDM says jaguarundis are the Sonoran Desert’s mystery cats. There are a number of jaguarundi sightings in Arizona each year, but a hide or skull has never been found, nor a photograph taken of one in the wild.
The jaguarundi ranges through much of South and Central America into Mexico.
The Margay is similar in appearance to the ocelot, but it is smaller. Margays are adapted to live in tropical forests and hunt in trees. It can turn its ankles 180 degrees and climb down trees head first. Its range is nearly identical to that of the jaguarundi. According to FWS, the last recorded margay in the U.S. was in Texas in 1852.
I have worked around many open pit mines and have observed wildlife seemingly undeterred. I have observed many Bighorned Sheep in and around the Silver Bell and Morenci mines. At the Tyrone mine near Silver City, New Mexico, deer often graze within the shop and office areas, and I have seen bears on the mine dumps. The Palabora mine in South Africa often had problems with elephants romping within the open pit.
Environmental regulations have their purpose, but sometimes the process becomes all important because that’s what keeps bureaucrats employed. It’s time to speed up and simplify the process so we can get to the results.
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