NM Commission rules on wolf reintroduction

The New Mexico Game Commission ruled at its monthly meeting last week that it will no longer automatically issue permits to allow private landowners to hold carnivores in captivity for the purpose of reintroducing them into the wild. The commission will have to give its approval on each request. In this case, Mexican gray wolves. According to Lance Cherry, assistant Chief of Information for the Game Commission, the new ruling allows for more transparency in the permitting process. “It will probably go into effect around mid-December,” he said. “For the time being, any permits won’t be impacted by this rule.” But any future renewal of permits will go through the Game Commission instead of going straight to the director for approval. “Prior to the change that they made, the permit requests were reviewed internally,” Cherry said. “Now there will be a public comment attached to them.” Ranchers in Socorro and Catron counties are happy about the ruling. “It’s a positive thing for New Mexico agricultural producers,” said rancher Anita Hand of Datil. The Hand Ranch lies between the San Mateo Mountains and Datil Mountains. “I appreciate the layer of protection,” she said. “There’s a process you have to go through, so when carnivores are released a neighbor can be notified, and they’re not just randomly released.” Hand said wolf tracks have been seen in and around the area, enough, she said, to warrant a wolf-proof enclosure for the protection of children waiting for the school bus. “They’re raised in captivity. They’ve been around human interaction,” she said. “They have humans feeding them and vaccinating them and taking care of them. They’re not scared of humans.” Caren Cowan, executive director of New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association, said, “We’re very pleased the state is trying to stand up for our rights and for New Mexico.” “As you probably know we have long opposed the Mexican wolf program, and we fail to see how the federal government has the right to turn loose predators on us with no compensation,” Cowan said. “The new ruling says, that as a private landowner, you can’t import a large carnivore, be it a wolf or anything else into the state and release it on your private property,” she said. “The genesis of this is that the drafted Environmental Impact Statement that was released last summer contains a provision that private property owners can cooperate with the Mexican wolf program and release wolves on private property. And as you and I know, once you release an animal like that on private property there’s no guarantee it’s going to stay there. We hope this addresses that situation.”...more