Groups File Suit to Protect Mexican Gray Wolves in New Mexico and Arizona

A coalition of local, regional and national conservation watchdog groups filed suit today to ensure the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service adopts policies that give endangered Mexican gray wolves a fair shot at recovery in their historic U.S. range. In January 2015, USFWS issued a final rule that refuses to consider the only wild population of Mexican wolves as “essential” to the species’ recovery, arbitrarily caps the population of Mexican gray wolves at a level far below what scientists consider necessary for recovery, prevents wolves from recolonizing native habitat in northern Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah, and allows more killing of Mexican wolves by federal agents and private landowners. “Banishing Mexican wolves from their native habitats to appease political interests is the latest mistake in the Service’s long history of mismanagement of the species’ recovery,” said Bethany Cotton, wildlife program director for WildEarth Guardians. “The only wild population of Mexican wolves is clearly essential to the species’ survival and recovery.” The final rule takes the unprecedented step of capping the Mexican wolf population at 300–325, and states that any excess wolves will be placed into captivity or killed. Capping the population is not based on the best available science and will not benefit the conservation and recovery of the endangered Mexican wolf. Indeed, the best science shows that at least 750 wolves spread across three populations is necessary for recovery...more