Protecting Wild Cat Habitat

Strengthening our partnership with the World Land Trust

The quarter began with a critical situation: environmental authorities’ lack of enforcement in the reserve (National Commission of Natural Protected Areas of SEMARNAT and the Federal Agency for Environmental Protection) has allowed cattle ranchers to carry out unrestricted burns and clearings of oak forests in the northeast corner of the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, primarily in El Pocito and Carrizal de los Durán in the municipality of Jalpan de Serra. This, coupled with delays in the arrival of rain during May, increased the occurrence of forest fires.

The Mesa Colorada reserve fell victim to such a forest fire in early June. It was intentionally provoked in the northern section of the reserve and began to travel towards La Hoya Verde reserve, affecting the undergrowth and tree canopy of approximately 200 ha of reserve land. We called and mobilized three fire brigades—two from the Federal Government and one from the Querétaro state government—guiding them to stop the fire’s advance. Our work consisted of opening firebreaks and clearing paths across most of the fire’s front. The fire raged for five days, but passive winds allowed the firebreaks to halt the fire’s movement. Certain areas of the fire, however, required direct intervention.

You can see a video of the fire by clicking here.

It should be noted that fighting fires is no easy task: just to reach the fire’s most remote front required a hike of 19 kilometers over very broken terrain, with abrupt cliffs and highly venomous rattlesnakes and fer-de-lance snakes. The risk to firefighters is real and great, and we thank them for their work.

Fortunately, rains arrived in the first week of June and put an end to the fire. Although oaks were lost, we anticipate that by maintaining this forest free from cattle, the affected area will be able to recover without major restoration work.

Also at the end of May, we had an incident in the Hoya del Cedro reserve: individuals on four-wheelers entered and disturbed the reserve by breaking a fence, littering, drinking, and using firearms (we found 22 caliber bullets). We do not think that they were poaching, as they would have created too much noise and would have scared away the wildlife. We reinforced the fence with 18 iron posts, and hope that this will prevent future intrusions.

Fortunately, our other reserves had no incidents. We continually monitor these reserves and, at the end of June, we had the pleasure of finding 15 fresh territorial markings of a jaguar in the Hoya del Hielo reserve. The tracks meant that a jaguar had passed by within a few hours of our trip. We installed a camera trap in the site and will be recording in case the jaguar returns. The presence of this great animal is a cause for celebration: it is an indicator of our work’s effectiveness and the importance of providing animals with wild, human-free spaces.

Financing by the Netherlands National IUCN Committee (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) has allowed us to expand the Hoya Verde reserve by 50 hectares. As a result, this reserve now protects oak forests and cloud forests. And with the support of our British partner, the World Land Trust (WLT), we acquired and incorporated 10 ha of cloud forest to the Cerro Cueva del Tigre reserve which is threatened by illegal logging that continues on its boundaries.

It is worth mentioning that we prioritize conservation of cloud forests because they cover less than 1% of Mexico yet harbor 12% of its flora, 33% of which is endemic. Their protection is high-impact conservation. They are also extremely beautiful.

During this quarter we also prospected several properties to add to the Cerro Prieto and La Hoya Verde reserves. These reserves are affected by clandestine logging and deforestation for the creation of livestock paddocks just outside of their boundaries. It is thanks to the WLT’s new campaign, “Save Mexico's Ancient Forests”, that we are able to continue purchasing properties.

As part of this campaign, Roberto Pedraza Ruiz, Head of the Land Conservation Program and Grupo Ecológico’s official photographer, travelled to the United Kingdom from August 9 – 21. He met with the World Land Trust team to update them about our work and held a photography exposition in The Forum, Norwich, titled “Discovering the secrets of Sierra Gorda, Mexico.” The exposition, held in a magnificent public space, was very well received.

Roberto Pedraza also gave three talks during the Rutland Bird Fair, the largest bird and wildlife observation event in the UK. During the talks, titled “Discovering the secrets of Mexico's Cloud Forests,” Roberto spoke about how his photography has become an effective tool for conservation, instrumental in discovering plant and animal species that are new to science, as well as rediscovering species that are considered extinct. GESG and the Sierra Gorda held a permanent presence in various locations of the fair, including at the WLT stand and in the food area, where a large screen showed a video as part of the WLT campaign. Because of this exposure and the incredible work of the World Land Trust, we will close the year with several new extensions to our reserves.

Our greatest honor and privilege is that new species (those previously mentioned and those that await publication in scientific articles), virtually extinct species, and endangered species such as jaguars find a safe haven in our reserves.

It is because of the incredible generosity of the British public and businesses on the other side of the Atlantic, as well as our GlobalGiving donors, that this conservation is possible.

Thank you!

Links:

• Forest fire burning in the Mesa Colorada reserve

Due to a wet winter and spring, during which cold fronts have arrived late and brought rain and fog, forest fires, which are undoubtedly the main threat to the integrity of the reserves, have been extremely weak.

However, despite the favorable conditions, a lightning caused a fire that consumed approximately 20 hectares close to the western limit of the Cerro Prieto reserve. Fortunately, it was attended to immediately by our park ranger in charge of the reserve and a group of neighbors who were cleaning a firebreak gap nearby. Therefore, it fortunately did not turn out to be a major fire, but only a creeping fire.

In other reserves, the continued presence of our park rangers allowed us to maintain effective protection of the forests.

Placing a camera trap in reserve #2, we were able to obtain three video clips of a puma walking on one of the trails. This indicates that we are providing effective protection to these forests, where big cats now find a refuge.

During this period, we also submitted proposals to purchase new properties and expand two of the reserves. We want to purchase two plots that are covered in ancient cloud forests, with populations of Magnolia rzedowskiana, one of the new micro-endemic species. We also want to expand the reserve of the Cerro Cueva del Tigre and eliminate clandestine logging activities that have been occurring on both properties, which are subject to the World Land Trust.

We submitted another proposal to the Dutch Committee of the IUCN to expand the Hoya Verde reserve by purchasing 57 hectares of temperate forests. In both cases we are still waiting for the approval.

A symposium for the members of the World Land Trust Conservation Alliance was held in the facilities of the British Trust for Ornithology in Thetford, Suffolk between April 16th and 20th. It was attended by Roberto Pedraza Ruiz, Head of the GESG’s Lands for Conservation Program, together with conservationists from 20 countries, all of whom are partners that make up the Conservation Alliance. It was a pleasure to attend the event, learn from experiences of others, strengthen ties, and explore future scenarios for the management of the reserves, in particular the issue of the succession and renewal of staff. 

A small carnivorous plant (Pinguicula spp) caught the attention of Roberto Pedraza Ruiz in 2012 outside the reserves, but still in the area of influence of the Cerro Prieto, in the neighboring state of San Luís Potosí. He sent a photo to Dr. Sergio Zamudio Ruiz, who, without a doubt is an expert botanist and taxonomist when it comes to the flora of the Sierra Gorda and an authority when it comes to the carnivorous plants. In 2015 Pedraza Ruiz guided Dr. Zamudio to collect some copies of the species, and in March 2018 Dr. Zamudio and his colleagues published a scientific article in which they described 4 new species of the genus Pinguicula, among them the now Pinguicula robertiana, which is in fact a species new to science, as well as Pinguicula rzedowskiana, which is micro-endemic to the Cerro Grande. There is the possibility that both species have populations within the Cerro Prieto reserve. Another article described a new species of cactus, Mammillaria rzedowskiana, which is also micro-endemic, has healthy populations within our reserve, and we are proud to protect it.

These findings document the importance of protecting these forests, showing that an area like the Cerro Prieto reserve safeguards various species.

• Pinguicula_Robertiana.pdf (PDF)
  
• Polibotanica_Mammillaria_Julio2017.pdf (PDF)