5-Year Status Review of the Jaguar
About the Document
Title: 5-year Status Review of the Jaguar (Panthera onca)
Purpose: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is conducting a 5-year status review of the endangered jaguar (Panthera onca) under section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act) as amended. The purpose of the 5-year review is to ensure that the listing classification of the species on the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants (50 CFR 17.12) is accurate. The 5-year review document is an assessment of the best scientific data available at this time and will be the basis for a recommendation by the Service on whether or not to propose a change in the listing status (see Federal Register notice, 71 FR 20714).
About the Peer Review Process
Type of Review: Influential
Estimated Peer Review Timeline: June-September 2007
Estimated Dissemination Date of the Final 5-Year Review: January 2008
Process: The Service will conduct external peer review of the scientific background information used in the 5-year review analyses with three or more independent scientific reviewers with expertise in large carnivore management or ecology, preferably with jaguar management or ecology expertise.
Criteria for Reviewer Selection: Peer reviewers will be selected based on the following criteria:
- Expertise: Reviewers should have knowledge in one or more of the following areas of jaguar or large carnivores: population ecology, conservation biology, predator/prey relationships, effects of land management activities on large carnivores, or socio-political considerations of wide-ranging wildlife.
- Independence: Reviewers should not be employed by the Service. Academic and consulting scientists and managers should have sufficient independence from the Service or the Department if the government supports their work.
- Objectivity: Reviewers should be recognized by their peers as being objective, open-minded, and thoughtful. Reviewers should be comfortable sharing their knowledge and identifying their knowledge gaps.
- Advocacy: Reviewers should not be known or recognized for an affiliation with an advocacy position regarding the protection of this species under the Endangered Species Act.
- Conflict of Interest: Reviewers should not have any financial or other interest that conflicts or that could impair their objectivity.
The Service will consider the information received from the peer review in the conclusions and recommendations for the jaguar 5-year review.
About Public Participation
Public input for the 5-year review of this species were sought with a Federal Register announcement (71 FR 20714) and the distribution by mail and press release of this announcement to interested parties.
The Service will post the final 5-year review document and recommendation for the jaguar, including a summary of the peer review results, on its website at http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/SpeciesReport.do?spcode=A040
If this 5-year review results in a recommendation to change the status of the jaguar, additional public review and comment will be sought with the publication of a proposed rule in the Federal Register to change the species status.
This peer review plan is made available on this website to allow the public to monitor our compliance with the Office of Management and Budget’s Final Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review.
Contact: Mark Crites, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tucson suboffice, at Mark_Crites@fws.gov or 520-670-6150, ext. 229.