The endangered species list can help guide federal agencies as they shape policy and develop recovery plans.

The Center for Biological Diversity has petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reintroduce a species that has been on the list for 50 years — the jaguar. 

Although the big cats can be found in northwest Mexico, they have probably not reproduced in the U.S. in decades.

The nonprofit says they will have a better chance of survival in the face of climate change if they can extend their range north, and named the Gila National Forest in southwest New Mexico as a potential place for reintroduction.

The only known jaguar in the U.S. today is a male, which has been sighted in southern Arizona.