WWP - Southwestern Wolf

Mexican Wolf
(Photo: FWS)

ON-THE-GROUND

Within the Blue Range Mexican gray wolf recovery area (BRWRA), there has been substantial on-the-ground resistance to the restoration of the wolf from the livestock industry.

Recently, one of the ranchers in the Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Area candidly described how he baited a female wolf with a pregnant cow in order to provoke a lethal removal order.

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This is unacceptable behavior from lessees on our public lands. Livestock ranchers prides themselves on being “Good Stewards” of wild places- it’s time for them to step up and restore this native species to its rightful place in the southwest ecosystem.

Western Watersheds Project has joined other conservation groups in asking the Forest Service and the BLM to immediately suspend this rancher’s public lands’ permits.

READ OUR LETTER

We think that anyone who knowingly and willfully interferes with wolf recovery should have grazing privileges immediately removed. It only seems fair.

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WWP isn’t the only group that thinks ranchers should get out of the way of Mexican gray wolf recovery. The Arizona Republic thinks so too.

READ THE EDITORIAL.

Legal Filings

May 2008

Notice of Violations of the ESA in Relation to the Mexican Gray Wolf Reintroduction Project
Read the Notice

Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief
Read the Complaint

The Mexican gray wolf was exterminated in the southwest once already during intense “predator control” activities for the benefit of the livestock industry. Now, it is on the verge of happening again. In 1998, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) reintroduced this small subspecies of the gray wolf into the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area of Arizona and New Mexico. The intention was to have at least 100 wolves in the wild by 2006, with 18 breeding pairs. The program has thus far failed miserably. There are 52 gray wolves in the wild, 29 in Arizona and 23 in New Mexico. There are only 4 breeding pairs. (USFWS 2008.)

There are lots of reasons why the wild population of lobos keeps dropping:

1. Legal status/protection.
Under the Endangered Species Act, the wolf is listed as “experimental, non-essential,” which means that there are less prohibitions on “take” than for fully protected species. This allows wolves to be lethally removed or permanently confined and allows other management proscriptions for their behavior. The Mexican gray wolf is endangered, and its time for the agency to give this species the full legal protection and recognition it deserves.

2. Three-strikes
Everyone knows that wolves will be wolves- they are, after all, wild animals. Given the opportunity to learn what beef tastes like due to poor animal husbandry and public lands littered with cow carcasses, wolves quickly learn that cows can be dinner. Unfortunately, if a wolf is confirmed to have killed three cows in one year, it is permanently “removed” from the wild, which usually means fatally. In 2007, 22 wolves were removed from the wild, 19 for livestock depredations.

3. Artificial boundaries
The BRWRA apparently isn’t big enough for a viable wolf population to survive. When the population grows, or packs form and compete, wolves stray outside of the politically-imposed boundary. They are then subject to administrative “removal.” In 2007, two wolves were “removed” for this reason. Wolves should be free to roam wherever they see fit. This is the essence of recovery. The FWS needs to remove the arbitrary boundaries being imposed on this wild animal.

4. Criminal behavior
Too many of the wild wolves have come up suspiciously missing. Killing a Mexican gray wolf is a violation of the federal Endangered Species Act and is punishable by up to a year in jail, criminal fines of up to $50,000 and civil penalties of up to $25,000. The FWS offers monetary rewards for tips leading to the conviction of people who have harmed wolves.

These are just a few of the factors adding up to a bad situation for the Mexican gray wolf. Fortunately, the FWS is revisiting the recovery and rules for this species and WWP is keeping a close eye on the process. For more information, contact arizona@westernwatersheds.org.

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