The endangered northern aplomado falcon could be reintroduced into its native skies above New Mexico and the public is encouraged to comment on the proposal. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, March 15, at the Corbett Center Student Union, Jordan Street and University Avenue, in Las Cruces. The informal question and answer session begins at 6 p.m. with a program from 7 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. Parking for the Corbett Center is located in Lot 27 off of Triviz and University Avenue.
Copies of the proposed rule and the draft environmental assessment will be available at the meeting or in advance on the internet at http://ifw2es.fws.gov/Mexico/ or by calling (505) 346-2525.
Comments can be made at the meeting or mailed to the New Mexico Ecological Services Field Office, 2105 Osuna Road NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87113. Comments may be sent by facsimile to (505) 346-2542 or through electronic mail to "R2FWE_AL@fws.gov.
The northern aplomado falcon was listed as endangered in 1986 under the Endangered Species Act. Although no falcons have been documented in Arizona since the 1940s, sporadic falcon sightings have occurred in New Mexico. A breeding pair in Luna County, New Mexico successfully hatched three chicks in 2002 but no chicks have been documented since then.
The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) proposes to reintroduce northern aplomado falcons into the Chihuahuan desert grasslands in New Mexico as part of a larger recovery effort already underway in Texas. Northern aplomado falcons in all of New Mexico and Arizona would be considered a nonessential experimental population which allows for flexible environmental regulations.
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