Species Wars: Return of the Wolf

So the USFWS was tasked with magically bringing back the Mexican wolves from the brink of extinction with only seven left. As it turns out, it ain’t magic—it’s science! And the science says that the wolves in the wild need the DNA of the captive wolves or else the whole project will crumble due to serious inbreeding, which creates weak animals that die easily. “Well hold on just a cotton-pickin’ minute,” you say. “Why can’t we just be the top predators? I mean, that’s basically the point of the N.M. Game and Fish Department (NMGF), right? To give hunters permits to hunt those deer and elk so there aren’t too many? Plus I’m sure the NMGF commissioners have the best interests of wildlife in mind, right?” Eh, not really. Their slogan is “Conserving New Mexico’s Wildlife for Future Generations,” but the phrase “to Kill” should be tacked on the end. Of the seven commissioners who in fact hire their own director and “set the department’s overall direction,” six proudly fall in the hunter/rancher category. Only one is primarily in the conservation camp. And this bizarrely pro-hunter commission and its interests in the ranching business seem to be the major obstacle to Mexican wolf reintroduction in New Mexico...more