Northern Jaguar Project Inc.

“Form 990 is reviewed in-depth by the board president and treasurer. Copies are distributed to remaining board members soliciting comments and feedback prior to filing.”

“After disclosure of a financial interest, the interested person shall leave the board or committee meeting while the financial interest is discussed and voted upon. The remaining board or committee members shall decide if a conflict of interest exists. If it does, the chairperson of the board or committee shall, if appropriate, appoint a disinterested person or committee to investigate alternatives to the proposed transaction or arrangement. Periodic reviews of this policy ensure that njp operates in a manner consistent with its tax-exempt purposes.”

“When determining compensation for management, the board uses compensation surveys to approve the level of compensation and has the employee sign a written employment contract.”

“The organization makes its governing documents and financial statements available to the public upon request. Form 990 is also available via guidestar.”

“Northern jaguar project - statement of program accomplishments october 2014 to september 2015 wildlife monitoring two jaguar guardians patrolled the northern jaguar reserve to deter poachers, inventoried the ecological health of the land and water, and maintained an array of motion-triggered cameras as a non-invasive method of wildlife observation. They were assisted at multiple points throughout the year by visiting student interns from the u.s. And mexico. Our cameras have photographed a total of 50 individual jaguars on the reserve and neighboring viviendo con felinos ranches, with more than 650 jaguar images to date. This year, we collected 61 jaguar photographs, which included eight individuals, three of whom were new to our cameras. This included a female jaguar seen consistently over the past five years and who is the second longest individual recorded. There were also male and female jaguars photographed at the same location weeks apart, which we interpreted as a positive sign since jaguars are solitary except when mating. Our jaguar guardians visited the viviendo con felinos ranches each month to make sure agreements were honored, maintain motion-triggered cameras, retrieve photographs, and deliver feline photo awards. This year, 11 participating ranches had a total of 400 feline photographs,”

“And deliver feline photo awards. This year, 11 participating ranches had a total of 400 feline photographs, which was an increase from the previous year. Jaguars were recorded on four ranches, and mountain lions, bobcats, and ocelots were on every ranch. Ocelot numbers doubled compared to previous years' documentation through viviendo con felinos. Along with feline images, we saw an increase in prey species, notably white-tailed deer. Results from seven years of bird monitoring on the reserve was peer reviewed and published in the natural areas journal. The authors assessed the status and richness of birds in this region and provided the first description of a bird community in foothills thornscrub vegetation across the full annual cycle of seasons. A peer-reviewed publication in plos one presented the first study of density and apparent survival for a jaguar population in northern mexico and used 13 years of camera trap data from the reserve and surrounding ranches. Community outreach jaguars continued to struggle for survival across a broad landscape where poisoning and poaching are the foremost threats. Through our viviendo con felinos project, we have made a long-term commitment to build local tolerance for jaguars and other wildlife. Viviendo con felinos makes clear connections between habitat conservation, scientific monitoring, community education, and improved predator-landowner relations, and participating ranchers have signed agreements not to hunt, poison, trap, or disturb wildlife on their properties. We continued to foster relationships with a widening base”

“Of ranchers by using economic incentives to reward the presence of living wildlife. This year, we expanded the protected habitat when we enrolled the 17,000-acre agua fria ranch. The inclusion of agua fria increased our geographical reach and opened a door to the segment of the local community most hostile toward carnivores. The owner of agua fria had been one of our loudest critics, consistently spreading anti-carnivore sentiments. Within weeks of camera placement at agua fria, a jaguar was photographed. The total viviendo con felinos project distributed $27,000 throughout the community, which ranchers used to make improvements and meet day-to-day needs. One rancher expressed that he realized it is possible to operate a working cattle ranch while simultaneously respecting wildlife. Every rancher faced challenges from a prolonged drought, and to address their concerns, we assisted with water conservation measures to benefit livestock, jaguars, and overall wildlife recovery. We built and repaired gabions designed to raise the water table on three viviendo con felinos ranches, and we hosted community meetings to discuss cattle predation causes and solutions. Knowing that the younger generation will assume roles as future ranch owners, we also organized workshops with elementary and high school students in the town of sahuaripa. Meanwhile, we strengthened ties to the community by hiring our first”

“Fulltime reserve manager, whose position enhanced our local engagement and allowed us to be more alert to situations where jaguar hostilities persist. Reserve expansion one of our foremost goals is to provide a core sanctuary from where jaguars can disperse and thrive, which we achieve through continued expansion and rehabilitation of the reserve. This year, we completed the purchase of the 5,000-acre babaco ranch, a hotspot for jaguar activity with 11 individual jaguars documented in a four-year period. Extensive wildlife sightings and an abundance of water had made this our top conservation priority for permanent protection. Reserve infrastructure and restoration we employed a fulltime reserve manager responsible for insuring the efficient management of all aspects of the reserve and planning/performing infrastructure maintenance and development. A crew of at least three cowboys assisted him each month. Infrastructure work included repairs to existing facilities, demolition of outdated structures, and building a storage shed to protect equipment. We put efficient and reliable systems in place for solar power and began to improve water storage at basecamps. Cowboys regularly repaired fences to keep trespassing cows out and repaired the road to minimize erosion. With the basic infrastructure improvements completed, we brought a handful of visitors to experience this dramatic landscape and its wild nature firsthand.”

“We continued work to remove buffelgrass in target areas of heavy infestation. Buffelgrass is a highly invasive species that threatens the ecological health of the reserve through fire and replacement of native vegetation. We plan to repeat this work over a multi-year period to achieve a high kill rate, restore native species, and best support jaguar recovery. We established a series of photo points to monitor the overall condition of the reserve and compare areas undergoing recovery over time. Stewardship and long-term management fund we continued to grow our stewardship and long-term management fund to guarantee the reserve's future through sustainable management and restoration. With more than one-third of our $1 million goal in hand, this fund will eventually create a permanent source of annual funding to cover the costs of basic protection and ensure proper guardianship of the reserve in perpetuity. Building our stewardship fund will continue to be a priority for additional funding in the years ahead. Grassroots leadership the jaguar is an indicator species for healthy ecosystems, and it is an excellent flagship to lead any conservation strategy attempting to protect large areas of wilderness. Working to realize lasting change for large carnivores takes time and perseverance, and njp continued to establish linkages between citizen groups, government agencies, universities, research scientists, and ranchers in the u.s. And mexico. With our inclusion on the 2015 top-rated green nonprofits list, njp received a five-star rating from greatnonprofits for the sixth year in”

“A row. Every contribution we receive is well stewarded to support jaguar conservation. The steady increase in the size of the protected area, whether through direct purchase or rancher agreements, is the strongest evidence of our capacity to protect, safeguard, and strengthen the northern jaguar population.”