Wolves are an essential part of the balance of nature. They keep elk and deer herds healthy by ensuring the healthiest animals survive. The Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) of the southwest was completely extirpated from its historic range by a U.S. government eradication program. It was rescued from imminent extinction through the captive breeding of just seven original survivors. In 1998, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began releasing wolves into the wildlands of Arizona and New Mexico.

Thirty-two years after receiving protection under the Endangered Species Act, and ten years after the Fish and Wildlife Service began its reintroduction program, scientists still consider the Mexican gray wolf the most endangered mammal in North America. As of a January 2008 population count, there were only 52 wild wolves, including just three breeding pairs, far short of the goal of 100 wolves and 18 breeding pairs that was originally established.

The Mexican wolf is in decline primarily due to federal predator control on behalf of the livestock industry. Wolves are intelligent, family-oriented animals. Shooting and trapping them disrupts their packs, separates mated pairs and can leave pups without parents. In short, current management is setting back wolf recovery, and changes need to be made immediately to remedy this situation.

Despite vocal opposition by a minority of Southwest residents, public opinion research has revealed broad support for wolf recovery. A recent poll shows that 77 percent of Arizonans and 69 percent of New Mexicans support wolf reintroduction on public lands. More specifically, the vast majority of southwest residents support wolf recovery, including:

• Support stronger protections under the Endangered Species Act;
• Understand the wolf to be a benefit to the West; and
• Believe that the US Fish and Wildlife Service should manage wolves to ensure against extinction.

Living with wolves is part of life in the West. Immediate changes in the management of this species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are needed today to ensure the population rebounds.

Please see the complete poll results from Research and Polling, Inc.

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Politicians and agencies take note: Voters in the southwest want wolves. To recover wolves, a few of the current management parameters need to change, including:

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, and the government needs to start investigating and prosecuting these crimes.

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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