Prairie dogas, cattle and humans by Lalo Ponce

Extensive regions of North America grasslands have been transformed into agriculture fields or cattle pastures. Beside these activities represents an important economical input into the region also are the major cause of habitat fragmentation and natural resources depletion. The conflict between regional development and biological conservation has been more evident in recent decades.

The Biosphere reserve in Janos maintain large extensions of well preserve grassland biome in México where thousands of p-dogs and all the fauna associated (badger, coyotes, kit foxes, falcons, golden eagle) co-habit with cattle and the agriculture fields. This situation represents an opportunity to develop strategies that converge goals of both social development and biological conservation through interdisciplinary strategies that consider all aspects concerns to science conservation.

The conservation effort on this extraordinary place in Mexico has been huge and for more than 30 years many steps in favor to its conservation has been done, actually the conservation projects that include social development and biological conservation are more common. This specific site is an example of the effort that Instituto de Ecología U.N.A.M. is doing to preserve the biodiversity through bringing alternative opportunities and solutions to solve the conflict in benefit of social development and biological conservation.