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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Wednesday that it will not designate critical habitat for the endangered jaguar in the Southwest.

U.S. habitat for the animal makes up less than 1 percent of the species' range and is not critical to conserve it, the agency said. Thus, it doesn't meet the requirements of the Endangered Species Act for designating critical habitat.

Jaguars are occasionally seen in southwestern New Mexico and Southeastern Arizona, but Fish and Wildlife officials believe those jaguars come from a population 130 miles south of the border in Mexico.

"The service has determined there are no physical and biological features in the United States that meet the definition of critical habitat," said Benjamin Tuggle, acting director of the agency's Southwest region.

The recovery of the species depends almost entirely on efforts in Mexico and Central and South America, the agency said.

The jaguars were listed as endangered in the United States in 1997, but Fish and Wildlife determined that a critical-habitat designation was not prudent at the time. In 2003, the Center for Biological Diversity and Defenders of Wildlife filed a complaint contending that finding violated the Endangered Species Act.

The federal agency agreed to look at the issue again, which led to Wednesday's determination.

Craig Miller of Defenders of Wildlife in Tucson said his organization disagreed with the premise of the Fish and Wildlife decision. He said the species' range in the past century was as far north as Springer in New Mexico and the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

Miller said the decision "follows a pattern of Fish and Wildlife relegating their responsibilities to Mexico."

"Jaguars are part of our heritage," he said. "They are here now. Wildlife like the jaguar need habitat in order to survive."

"Critical habitat" refers to geographic areas with features that are essential to conserve an endangered or threatened species.