New Mexico Meadow Jumping Mouse Hits Endangered Species List

On Tuesday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced that the dwindling populations of the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse would hit the endangered species list.

According to the Endangered Species Act ordered by the FWS, the mouse remains at an "elevated risk of extinction" because of cattle grazing, drought, wildfires and "significant conservation intervention." The nature organization proposed that the creature go under endangered status last year, at which time they were studying 14,561 acres along streams in Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado to act as possible critical habitat for the mouse--areas that the creature is native to. 

Yet many ranchers said they believe that the drought-stricken lands might not be the most suitable for remaining mice.

"Once again, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service chose to cater to big-city radical special interests instead of protecting our jobs, and ignored the fact that conservation and economic growth are not mutually exclusive," says Congressman Steve Pearce, in a news release. "FWS failed to recognize that its own policies - which have stopped timber harvesting and forest thinning - are to blame for the raging wildfires that threaten the mouse."

Conservationists also believe that allowing the creature to fend for itself in not-so-optimal conditions may disrupt the food chain. 

"Mice are part of the food chain across the entire ecosystem," says Jay Lininger, senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. "They're a highly sought-after food source for a variety of snakes, foxes, and birds like redtail hawks. The entire food chain suffers if the jumping mouse blinks out."

At the moment, there are less than 30 populations of meadow jumping mice left. However, as the creatures typically hibernate most of the year, they only take three to four months to mate, breed and raise offspring. 

They will, none-the-less, require specialized habitats in which they can live near streams and feed off a regular diet of insects and seeds.  

The Federal Register has yet to announce a decision about the remaining creatures' safe habitat.