Ocelot. Photo credit: USFWS.

Draft Recovery Plan for the Ocelot

About the Document

Title:  Draft Recovery Plan for the Ocelot, First Revision

Purpose:  The purpose of the recovery plan is to provide a strategy that leads to the recovery and delisting of the ocelot in Texas and Arizona, in the U.S., and in Tamaulipas and Sonora in Mexico, in accordance with section 4(f)(1) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).  The plan contains information on this species’ life history, threats, current conservation, and a recovery strategy with recovery actions. 

About the Peer Review Process

Type of Review:  Influential

Estimated Peer Review Timeline:  September – December, 2010

Peer review process:

·         The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) will solicit comments from at least seven independent peer reviewers on the draft recovery plan for the ocelot.  This scientific peer review will be held concurrently with the public review.

·         The Service will ask members of the technical subcommittee of the recovery team to recommend independent peer reviewers and will apply our knowledge of who meets the following criteria: 

·         Expertise:  In feline biology, carnivore ecology, conservation genetics, Chihuahuan/Sonoran desert ecology, Tamaulipan Biotic Province ecology, transportation and wildlife connectivity, captive breeding and management, translocation, habitat restoration, habitat corridors, conservation on private lands, international conservation, public outreach and education, population viability analyses, modeling, or decision analysis.

·         Independence:  Reviewers should not be employed by the Service.  Academic and consulting scientists should have sufficient independence from the Service, if the government supports their work.

·         Objectivity:  Reviewers should be recognized by their peers as being objective, open-minded, and thoughtful.  The 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 these 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.

About public participation

The Draft Recovery Plan for the Ocelot, First Revision, will be made available to the public through news releases and direct mailings and posted on Service websites with solicitations for public comment.  The Service will implement an outreach plan to provide ample opportunity for public involvement in the review process.  The Service will publish a final recovery plan following consideration of all comments received from the public and peer reviewers.  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:  Jody Mays, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, Rio Hondo, Texas 956-748-3607, e-mail jody_mays@fws.gov.