(From left) Major Fawaz Faleh Elfayez, Chief of Environment and Nature Protection Division of Environmental Rangers Directorate, Mahdi Quatrameez, Head of Wildlife Law Enforcement Division, Royal Society for Conservation of Nature, Jordanian Ambassador to the U.S., His Royal Highness  Prince Zeid Ra'ad and Deputy Secretary of the Interior, Lynn Scarlett. (photo: DOI)

by Scott Flaherty, External Affairs

After learning from Kathy Washburn of the Department of Interior’s International Affairs Office about a need for binoculars for anti-poaching enforcement at Wadi Mujib Reserve in Jordan, Marc Weitzel, project leader at Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex, arranged to obtain a combination of new binoculars from Vortex optics, and very good conditioned, used binoculars to outfit the Reserve’s 15 rangers with excellent optics. 

On November 3, Deputy Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett presented 15 advanced binoculars and spotting scopes to His Royal Highness Jordanian Ambassador to the United States Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein for the Jordanian Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature.  The equipment will be used at Wadi Mujib Nature Reserve, the home of the endangered Nubian Ibex, to assist in anti-poaching efforts. 

“It’s always satisfying when we can directly assist our international partners with their important conservation work,” said Weitzel, who has served as an advisor on the office’s International Technical Assistance Office for several years.  “We often times take for granted the resources we have available to support our jobs, but for many of our international counterparts, even simple field tools, like binoculars, can be a luxury."

Prince Zeid Ra’ad, for his part, expressed his gratitude on behalf of the Jordanian government for the generous donation noting that “Jordanian-American cooperation in the conservation of Jordan’s rich biodiversity is testimony to the strength and breadth of the Jordan-U.S. partnership.”

The head of Wildlife Law Enforcement Division for the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature, Mahdi Quatrameez, was also present at the meeting.  He has been investigating law enforcement procedures on a study tour funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. “I am anxious to return to Jordan to get this equipment into the field to support our enforcement efforts, where it will be much appreciated,” Quatrameez said.