“Mexican gray wolves have done what is needed to survive in the wild. They have formed packs, had pups and successfully hunted native prey. Yet, Mexican wolves continue to be the most endangered mammals in North America. Only about 50 wolves survive in the wild today. That’s half of the 100-wolf population target that we expected to reach by 2006. What’s more, the population decreased over the previous five years, going as low as 42 wolves in the wild, before increasing back to 50 in early 2011.
Why? Simply put, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is failing at wolf recovery. If the agency continues on its current path, it will be impossible to attain a wild, self-sustaining population of Mexican gray wolves in the Southwest.
Below are management changes recommended by leading conservation groups and wildlife biologists. These changes would ensure Mexican gray wolves expand and thrive under Endangered Species Protection:
1. Plan for Recovery
The 1982 recovery plan for the Mexican wolf is out of date and lacks required criteria for recovery and de-listing. The Endangered Species Act requires a full roadmap to recovery for Mexican wolves, which will guide future management decisions. The USFWS needs to complete and adopt a new recovery plan as soon as possible. Recently, a Recovery Planning team of independent scientists was convened to begin a process to develop a new Recovery Plan. This is a great step forward, but it’s still important that we continue to hold the USFWS and other decision-makers accountable for a timely, scientifically valid Recovery Plan that will work for Mexican wolves.
2. Actively Reduce Livestock-Wolf Conflicts
Livestock-wolf conflicts are the bane of Mexican wolf recovery. Tools that may work well to reduce livestock-wolf conflicts include:
- Increased use of temporary electric fencing, range riders, guard dogs and other non-lethal means of preventing livestock predation.
- Requiring livestock owners to remove dead livestock from public lands or render the carcasses inedible (by applying lime) to prevent wolves from becoming habituated to domestic meat.
- Permanently retiring grazing allotments when permits are abandoned or voluntarily ceded back to the U.S. Forest Service or other federal land managers.
- Offering incentives to livestock operators, such as voluntary purchase agreements, to permanently retire grazing allotments within the wolf recovery area, especially in areas of high conflict.
3. Reclassify Wolves to Ensure Better Management
Despite failing to meet its own objective for the number of Mexican wolves in the recovery area, the U.S. government continues to classify Mexican wolves as an “experimental, nonessential” population. Reclassifying wolves as fully “endangered” or an “experimental, essential” population would necessitate a shift in management philosophy from predator control to conflict prevention and improve progress toward recovery.
4. Allow Wolves to Leave the Designated Recovery Area
Wolves are prohibited from establishing territories wholly outside of the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area except where adjacent landowners accept their presence. Wolves that establish territories outside the invisible boundary lines are captured and moved, whether or not they cause conflicts. The constant relocation of wolves disrupts pack social structure and thwarts population growth. Wildlife biologists have found that this provision impedes wolf recovery.
5. Work to Improve Genetic Integrity
The wild population of Mexican wolves is genetically impoverished, but could be rescued by carefully managed releases of wolves from the captive population. The USFWS needs to work with independent experts to develop and implement a science-based genetic rescue program for the wild population.
6. Include the U.S. Forest Service in Recovery
The U.S. Forest Service has management authority for the entire Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area and has obligations equal to those of the USFWS under the Endangered Species Act. The Forest Service should adopt and implement conservation policies that resolve livestock-wolf conflicts and promote survival and recovery of Mexican wolves.
7. Continue to Keep Wolves in the Wild
The US Fish and Wildlife Service recently ended a management directive called Standard Operating Procedure 13 (SOP 13) that contributed heavily to the failure to achieve the 100-wolf objective for Mexican wolves in the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area. Under SOP 13, Mexican wolves were killed or removed if they are known or suspected to be involved in three or more incidents of livestock killing in a year. Support the Fish and Wildlife Service in keeping wolves in the wild to avoid the impact removals have on the overall population, the social relations of wolves such as dependent pups, and their genetic value .”
**Special thanks to “Lobos of the Southwest” for providing this information!
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