Pronghorn among species most threatened by nation’s water woes

By Andrew Boven  

Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – A new report lists the endangered Sonoran pronghorn as one of the  species most threatened by water problems across the nation.

The pronghorn was one of 17 species identified Wednesday by the  Endangered Species Coalition as threatened by water-quality issues or a  lack of water in 10 different watersheds.

For pronghorn, which live in the Sonoran Desert between southwest  Arizona and northern Mexico, problems include a lack of rainfall,  water-quality problems from industrial and agricultural runoff and  habitat damage from Border Patrol activities, among other factors, the  report said.

Leda Huta, the coalition’s executive director, said the timing and  duration of rainfall in the desert is vital for the pronghorn‘s  survival for several reasons.

“It’s not just water, but also what they’re eating,” Huta said. “Without water, they’re not going to have food.”

Another problem is off-road activity by Border Patrol agents. That  damages vegetation the herds graze on, said Tierra Curry, a  conservation biologist at the Center for Biological Diversity, one of  the groups that make up the coalition.

“It changes the nature of the area,” Curry said of border  activities, adding that the border fence divides pronghorn herds between  the U.S. and Mexico.

“The fence is certainly a problem because it separates the  population in Mexico and the population in the U.S.,” Curry said.

But the Border Patrol challenged that claim, saying it works to  protect the environment while doing its job of protecting the border.

“The preservation of our valuable natural and cultural resources  is of great importance to Customs and Border Protection, and we are  fully engaged in efforts that consider the environment as we work to  secure our nation’s borders,” the agency said in a written statement  Wednesday.

The statement said the agency’s work in the Barry M. Goldwater  Range in Arizona, where it “has funded mitigation and recovery efforts  for the endangered Sonoran pronghorn, is an example of our commitment”  to the environment.

The report, “Water Woes: How dams, diversions dirty water and  drought put America’s wildlife at risk,” is the latest by the coalition,  which releases a report every year listing areas that are at greatest  danger from a different environmental threat.

Environmental groups nominate species which are reviewed by  scientists, who put together a final list. Huta said the coalition chose  species that “aren’t a lost cause,” where human changes could alter the  situation.

“They wanted species where we can highlight what can be done,” Huta said.

She said people can help by cutting water use and reducing their  carbon footprint, which she said contributes to global warming which can  lead to drought.

Pronghorn were listed as an endangered species in 1967. Officials  estimate that there are currently only about 500 in the wild, about 100  of which are on the U.S. side of the border.