SIERRA DE VALLEJO-RÍO AMECA BIOSPHERE RESERVE
THE FEDERAL DECREE.
In January 2024, the federal government decreed the protection of this region as a biosphere reserve. This implies that land use changes within the reserve polygon (around 557,000 acres) will be illegal. The official protection process comes at a critical time, when tourism and real estate development is experiencing accelerated growth in the area, which combined with other global and regional factors such as climate change, makes regenerative development and conservation urgent issues. Proper management and conservation of these ecosystems will ensure the provision of fundamental ecological conditions and services for future generations.
BIOLOGICAL RELEVANCE.
The Sierra de Vallejo and its area of influence are home to more than 10 ecosystems: temperate forests, tropical deciduous and semi-deciduous forests, tropical savanna vegetation and coastal lagoons.
The species lists are not yet complete, but there are around 1,130 registered plant species and 665 vertebrate species. Of them, 21 plant species and 132 vertebrate species are classified in some risk or protection category within the Mexican Standard for Endangered Species (NOM-ECOL-059-SEMARNAT-2010).
This area is part of one of the regions with the greatest endemism levels (species that only live there) for mammals at the national and continental scales. Its flora could be the richest in western Mexico.
Within the reserve, small areas of cloud forest are distributed, one of the most important ecosystems on the planet due to its extraordinary biodiversity, with levels of endemism that reach up to 30 percent of the total species.
As an example of wildlife species present in the area, five of the six species of felids in Mexico are present: Tigrillo (Leopardus wiedii), Jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi), Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), Mountain Lion (Puma concolor) and Jaguar (Panthera onca).
Other rare and threatened species that inhabit the Sierra de Vallejo are the Green Macaw (Ara militaris), the Lilac-crowned Parrot (Amazona finschi) and the Black Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus tyrannus).
