By Tony Davis | Arizona Daily Star
The proposed Rosemont Mine has cleared yet another procedural hoop, with a new draft federal opinion saying that the mine isn’t likely to jeopardize the existence of any of nine endangered species including the jaguar or destroy jaguar critical habitat.
In general, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the damage to endangered species and their habitat from the proposed mine is not significant enough to make a difference for their long-term survival. That’s partly due to a long list of environmental mitigation measures mining company Rosemont Copper has proposed or agreed to, says the Fish and Wildlife Service report, which the Star obtained this week.
With the jaguar in particular, the service’s 418-page, Rosemont biological opinion says the mine isn’t likely to jeopardize its survival in part because there are 30,000 jaguars throughout the species range, dipping deep into Mexico and Central and South America. But only one jaguar is likely to be killed, wounded, harassed or otherwise negatively impacted by this copper mine, the new opinion says.
