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For Immediate Release
Defenders of Wildlife Supports Rare Opportunity to Improve Mexican Wolf Program
Listen to Mexican wolf experts discuss the issues in a press conference held Nov. 28, 2007.
The meetings, sponsored by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, will be held daily from Nov. 26 through Dec. 8 and will take place in various cities and towns across Arizona and New Mexico.
“With the public’s help, the Mexican wolf really has a chance for a turnaround,” said Eva Sargent, Southwest representative for Defenders of Wildlife. “Polls have shown that most people around here really want to see these animals succeed. We want people to come to these meetings and let management officials know of their support for this program.”
The Mexican gray wolf once roamed throughout the Southwest, but by the early 1970s, the lobo had been almost completely exterminated. In 1976, the lobo was listed as an endangered species, and the few remaining wolves were entered into a captive breeding program involving the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and more than 40 North American zoos. In March of 1998, the Service reintroduced three family groups of Mexican wolves back into the Apache National Forest in eastern Arizona.
Although 99 Mexican wolves have been reintroduced over the past decade, only about 60 still remain in the wild today. Their dwindling numbers have been attributed to the limited recovery areas where wolves are allowed to roam, the routine killing of individual wolves deemed as problematic, and a recovery plan lacking specific goals or benchmarks.
“Fortunately, we already know the biggest changes we need to make to the rules governing the recovery of the Mexican wolf,” said Sargent. “These meetings are a chance for us to apply what we’ve learned from past successes and mistakes in management in order to help Mexican gray wolves reach a sustainable population. With the entire community working together, we can ensure that lobos once again restore a balance to the Southwest’s wild country.”
Defenders of Wildlife recommends the following changes to the rules governing Mexican wolves:
- Allow wolves to roam beyond the current artificial boundaries to find suitable habitat and prey.
- Resolve livestock-wolf conflicts in ways that keep wolves in the wild and achieve progress towards reintroduction objectives.
- Revise the Fish and Wildlife Service’s 25-year-old recovery plan.
- Allow for opportunities to expand wolf reintroduction to other appropriate areas in the future.
Defenders and other conservation groups will also be hosting hospitality areas at many of the meeting locations. These areas will be a resource for reporters, the public and their children, offering information about the Mexican wolf and the history of the reintroduction program, as well as fun wolf-centered activities.
Meeting Dates,
Times and Locations
Nov. 26, 5-9 p.m. –
Flagstaff,
AZ
Nov. 27, 5-9 p.m. –
McNary,
AZ
Nov. 28, 5-9 p.m. –
Alpine, AZ
Nov. 29, 5-9 p.m. –
Grants, NM
Nov. 30, 5-9 p.m. –
Albuquerque,
NM
Dec. 1,
11 a.m.-3 p.m. – Socorro,
NM
Dec. 3, 5-9 p.m. –
Alamogordo,
NM
Dec. 4, 5-9 p.m. –
Las Cruces,
NM
Dec. 5, 5-9 p.m. –
Glenwood,
NM
Dec. 6, 5-9 p.m. –
Safford,
AZ
Dec. 7, 5-9 p.m. –
Tucson,
AZ
Dec. 8,
11 a.m.-3 p.m. – Phoenix,
AZ
For more information online about the Mexican gray wolf or the public meetings, please visit www.defenders.org/mexicanwolf.
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Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than 1 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit www.defenders.org.
