ABQjournal: Program To Release Northern Aplomado Falcons in Southern N.M. By Tania Soussan, Journal Staff Writer

As many as 150 endangered northern Aplomado falcons raised in captivity would be released in southern New Mexico every year for the next decade under a federal plan announced Wednesday.

The birds are native to Chihuahuan Desert grasslands in southern New Mexico and Arizona but disappeared from the area in the early 1950s.

Falcons have been seen near Deming, New Mexico, every year since 2001, and a pair successfully raised three chicks there in 2002.

The Fish and Wildlife Service will hold a public hearing March 15 in Las Cruces and will accept written comments through April 11.

The releases would begin in summer 2006. Ted Turner’s Armendaris Ranch near Truth or Consequences and Otero Mesa south of Alamogordo are possible release sites.

The Peregrine Fund of Boise, Idaho, is breeding the birds and would handle the releases and most of the costs. It has reintroduced falcons in Texas.

The falcons are striking raptors with a bold black-and-white facial pattern. They favor open grasslands with scattered trees.

Habitat destruction and pesticide contamination caused their decline. … There is evidence that oil and gas drilling and cattle grazing can damage falcon habitat and disturb the birds.