I was on vacation last week. When I got to my piled up inbox I found I had received an email from my friends at the Center for Biological Diversity. This is good news for the wolves of the Southwest US and for the ones in Mexico. I thought I would pass this along so you could feel a little glow from this victory too. Remember, they are referring to last week.
From the letter:
Too Few Wolves . . . But Southwest Wolves Get Big Boost This Week
Mexican gray wolves, one of the most endangered mammals on the planet, are a good example of how the extinction crisis can put an animal on the brink. At the end of 2008, the wild Mexican wolf population was down to just 52 animals and two breeding pairs. But this week, the wolf’s outlook improved in three big bursts.
On Tuesday, the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the Obama administration to upgrade protection of the Mexican gray wolf as a separate subspecies or distinct population. Right now, Mexican wolves are lumped in with other gray wolves on the endangered species list, so there’s no identified number of Mexican wolves to aim toward as an endpoint in recovery. If our petition is granted, it will compel the development of a new recovery plan that includes recovery targets, designation of protected critical habitat zones, and expansion of reintroduction efforts.
Also on Tuesday, the Center and allies won a lawsuit against the bizarrely named USDA Wildlife Services, whose main “service” consists of killing and trapping wolves on behalf of public-lands livestock owners. The court ordered the agency to release records detailing where Mexican wolves killed livestock prior to the agency shooting and trapping them. Knowing where, on public lands, the wolves get into trouble will help us advocate for measures to prevent conflicts so the wolves don’t pay the price.
In one more piece of good news for Mexican wolves — including Mexican Mexican wolves — biologists in the Republic of Mexico announced that this fall they’ll begin releasing lobos in the mountains south of the U.S.-Mexico border. If wolves released in Mexico cross the border, they should receive full protection under the Endangered Species Act — unlike the much-persecuted population in New Mexico and Arizona that has been designated “experimental non-essential.” Not only will Mexico’s plan help the wolves reclaim more habitat; it will also bolster genetic diversity by promoting connections between different lobo populations. Northern Mexico has lots of wild, wild habitat and we look forward to hear wolves howl from across the border.
Learn more on our petition from the Associated Press and read about the release of wolves in Mexico in the Albuquerque Journal.
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