Commemorative Stone Markers


Commemorative Stone Markers for the Endangered New Mexican Jaguar
Marble quarried in Belen, New Mexico  will be used to create a series of permanent markers that demarcate and illuminate the hidden presence and history of one of North America’s most critically endangered species. New Mexico's largest native cat, the jaguar (panthera onca), once roamed much of the United States.  These majestic animals were exterminated over the last century and a half with an extremely small number surviving to the present day, only in the Southwest region. Commemorative stone markers will be situated at significant locations in New Mexico and Arizona including along the Cimarron River in northern New Mexico (site of a historically documented jaguar kill) and the Pajarito mountains of southern Arizona (site of a highly publicized 2009 jaguar capture). Inscribed text and imagery on each marble work, derived from unique recorded regional histories will examine the jaguar’s precarious ongoing struggle for survival in the United States.