Janos Biosphere Reserve | |
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IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources) [1] | |
Location | Chihuahua, Mexico |
Nearest city | Janos |
Coordinates | 30°57′37.8″N108°23′01.5″W / 30.960500°N 108.383750°W |
Area | 526,482 ha (2,032.76 sq mi) |
Designation | Biosphere reserve |
Designated | 2009 |
Governing body | National Commission of Natural Protected Areas |
The Janos Biosphere Reserve (Spanish : Reserva de la Biosfera de Janos) is a nature reserve in Janos, Chihuahua, Mexico. It protects a prairie ecosystem best known for its recovering and reintroduced species most notably the herd of American bison (Bison bison) which became the first re-established in Mexico. It is the first federally protected area of Mexico with the main objective of protecting a grassland ecosystem. [2]
The reserve is contiguous with the border of the United States and part of the Malpai Borderlands, a ranching and conservation area in New Mexico and Arizona.
The region contains petroglyphs and arrowheads left by prehistoric hunter-gatherers. The region would have been under the influence of the Mogollon culture, part of the Oasisamerica grouping of cultures. The town of Janos was founded in 1580 by Franciscan missionaries and a military garrison was established in 1686 to protect it from Apache raids. [2]
As a result of agrarian reform in the 1930s and 1940s, federal lands and cattle ranches that later became Janos were redistributed to the landless poor. [2] In subsequent years, overgrazing and forestry companies significantly altered environmental conditions in the area, contributing to the extinction of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis), Mexican wolves (Canis lupus baileyi) and imperial woodpeckers (Campephilus imperialis) that inhabited the mountains. [2]
In 1988, a complex of black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianu) burrows estimated to be 55,000 hectares (140,000 acres) was discovered. [2] In 1991, the Institute of Ecology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) began the first biological studies in the area and in 2001 a reintroduction program of the endangered black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) was started by the institution. [2] In January 2002, the process to be included in the Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (CONANP) was initiated. [2]
Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) became locally extinct within Mexico. Captive breeding program was launched within the US, and reintroductions have been made among the US and Mexico. Janos Reserve was one of those sites for reintroductions in 2009. [3]
On 28 November 2009, twenty-three genetically pure American bison (Bison bison), including twenty females and three males, [4] from the Wind Cave bison herd in South Dakota were released onto the Janos prairie. [2] The new Janos Biopsphere Reserve bison herd adds to other Mexican bison that have ranged between Chihuahua, Mexico, and New Mexico, United States, since at least the 1920s. This older population is known as the Janos-Hidalgo bison herd, and its persistence for nearly 100 years confirms that habitat for bison is suitable in northern Mexico. This is consistent with archeological records and historical accounts from Mexican archives from AD 700 to the 19th century documenting that the southern extent of the historic range of the bison included northern Mexico and adjoining areas in the United States. [5] On 8 December 2009, the Janos Biosphere Reserve was officially created through a presidential decree by then-President Felipe Calderón and published in the Official Journal of the Federation . [6] As of May 2017, there were 138 bison living at Janos. [4]
In 2020, 19 plains bisons were transported to Maderas del Carmen, and formed the second rewilded herd in Mexico. [7]
The total area of the reserve is 526,482 hectares (1,300,970 acres; 2,032.76 sq mi), [6] which includes 218,630 hectares (540,200 acres) of grassland, 65,539 hectares (161,950 acres) of pine-oak forests, 24,873 hectares (61,460 acres) of halophyte vegetation and 3,681 hectares (9,100 acres) of riparian areas. [6]
There are 383 species of fauna in the reserve, of which 79 are mammals, 257 aves, 34 reptiles and 13 amphibians. [6] Notable animal species in the reserve include: the pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum), green toad (Anaxyrus debilis), cougar (Puma concolor), burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia), golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) and American black bear (Ursus americanus). [2]
Notable plant species in the reserve include the cimarron walnut (Juglans major) and biznaga cabeza de viejo (Mammillaria senilis). [6] In mountains of the reserve there are forests of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), which are rare in Mexico. [2]
The American bison, commonly known as the American buffalo, or simply buffalo, is a species of bison that is endemic to North America. It is one of two extant species of bison, along with the European bison. Its historical range circa 9000 BC is referred to as the great bison belt, a tract of rich grassland spanning from Alaska south to the Gulf of Mexico, and east to the Atlantic Seaboard, as far north as New York, south to Georgia, and according to some sources, further south to northern Florida, with sightings in North Carolina near Buffalo Ford on the Catawba River as late as 1750.
The Chihuahuan Desert is a desert ecoregion designation covering parts of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It occupies much of far West Texas, the middle to lower Rio Grande Valley and the lower Pecos Valley in New Mexico, and a portion of southeastern Arizona, as well as the central and northern portions of the Mexican Plateau. It is bordered on the west by the Sonoran Desert, the Colorado Plateau, and the extensive Sierra Madre Occidental range, along with northwestern lowlands of the Sierra Madre Oriental range. Its largest, continual expanse is located in Mexico, covering a large portion of the state of Chihuahua, along with portions of Coahuila, north-eastern Durango, the extreme northern part of Zacatecas, and small western portions of Nuevo León. With an area of about 501,896 km2 (193,783 sq mi), it is the largest hot desert in North America. The desert is fairly young, existing for only 8000 years.
The Mexican wolf, also known as the lobo mexicano is a subspecies of gray wolf native to eastern and southeastern Arizona and western and southern New Mexico and fragmented areas of northern Mexico. Historically, the subspecies ranged from eastern Southern California south into Baja California, east through the Sonora and Chihuahua Deserts and into West Texas.
Malpai Borderlands is a land area along the U.S.-Mexico border. It encompasses the southeast corner of Arizona and the southwest corner of New Mexico. It is sometimes defined as including areas in the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora. The Malpai is part of the Madrean Region which includes the arid and semi-arid borderlands of the United States and Mexico from California to Texas.
The Konza Prairie Biological Station is a 8,616-acre (3,487 ha) protected area of native tallgrass prairie in the Flint Hills of northeastern Kansas. "Konza" is an alternative name for the Kansa or Kaw Indians who inhabited this area until the mid-19th century. The Konza Prairie is owned by The Nature Conservancy and Kansas State University.
Iztaccíhuatl–Popocatépetl National Park, also known as Izta-Popo Zoquiapan National Park, is a national park in Mexico on the border of the states of México, Puebla, and Morelos. The park protects 39,819.08 hectares, surrounding Mexico's second- and third-highest peaks, the Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl volcanoes as well as the area of the Hacienda de Zoquiapán, and its annexed areas (anexas) of Zoquiapan, Ixtlahuacán, and the Frío de Juárez River.
Pronatura Noreste is a Mexican nongovernmental, nonprofit organization recognized by the National Council of Science and Technology as a scientific and educational organization. Pronatura Noreste is one of six regional offices of the Pronatura México, and has its headquarters in Monterrey, Nuevo León. It also has offices in Matamoros, Tamaulipas; Cuatro Ciénegas, Coahuila; San Rafael, Nuevo León; Janos, Chihuahua; and Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas.
Maderas del Carmen is a biosphere reserve in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila.
The Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve is a World Heritage Site containing most of the overwintering sites of the eastern population of the monarch butterfly. The reserve is located in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests ecoregion on the border of Michoacán and State of Mexico, 100 km, northwest of Mexico City. Millions of butterflies arrive in the reserve annually. Butterflies only inhabit a fraction of the 56,000 hectares of the reserve from October–March. The biosphere's mission is to protect the butterfly species and its habitat.
San Guillermo National Park is a national park in Argentina, in the Iglesia Department of San Juan Province. It was established in 1998 and is part of the San Guillermo Biosphere Reserve. Elevations in the biosphere range from 2,100 metres (6,900 ft) to 6,380 metres (20,930 ft). Vegetation in the National Park and biosphere consists of barren desert, grasslands, and a few wetlands, all located in the high, arid Andes. The animals include vicuña, guanaco, culpeo fox, Andean mountain cat, cougar, and Andean condor.
The Northern Tallgrass Prairie is one of 844 terrestrial ecoregions defined by One Earth. This ecoregion largely follows the Red River Valley in the Canadian province of Manitoba and the American states of North Dakota and Minnesota.
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La Encrucijada Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve situated in the Pacific Coastal Lowlands physiographic region of Mexico. It covers 144,848 hectares (559.26 sq mi) stretching over six municipalities in the Costa de Chiapas. It is composed of two large coastal lagoon systems that correspond to two core areas, and a wide variety of natural ecosystems including mangroves, zapotonales, tule swamps and marshes, as well as patches of tropical seasonal forest, coastal dunes and palm trees.
The Volcán Tacaná Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve at the Tacaná Volcano in Chiapas, Mexico, on the border with Guatemala. The volcano is part of the Central America Volcanic Arc. The 6,378 hectares (24.63 sq mi) reserve contains fragile ecosystems very rich in wild flora and fauna species of cultural, scientific, economic and biological relevance. Its rich biodiversity and high endemism are found particularly in the high mountain ecosystem and landscapes and in the volcanic edifice which presents geophysical features of great scientific and aesthetic value. Average annual rainfall can amount to 2,000–5,000 millimetres (79–197 in), as in the case of Soconusco.
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The Guadalupe Island Biosphere Reserve,, is in the Pacific Ocean and part of Baja California state of Mexico. The Reserve consists of Guadalupe Island and several small islands nearby plus a large expanse of surrounding ocean. The Reserve was created by the government of Mexico on 25 April 2005 and is located 250 kilometres from the mainland. The Reserve is 4,770 square kilometres (1,840 sq mi) in size of which 263 square kilometres (102 sq mi) is land and the remainder is water.
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