Action: Join Press Conference for Wolves in Phoenix Jan. 14, 2016!

Arizona wolf advocates will hold a press conference at the state capitol in Phoenix on January 14, 2016 to call on Governor Doug Ducey and state legislators to work for, instead of against, the recovery of Arizona’s critically endangered Mexican gray wolves.

A large showing of wolf supporters at the press conference is needed to counter state actions to undermine Mexican wolf recovery. Please join us at this event and stand for wolves as part of a four state day of action to save the lobo.

In November, Governor Ducey and the Governors of Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah — all of the states that Mexican wolves need to recover – sent a letter urging Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe to base the Mexican gray wolf recovery plan on state political agendas rather than the recommendations of respected scientists appointed to the science and planning subgroup.

Peer reviewed science by these top wolf experts says that Mexican wolves need four things to recover: they need two new populations north of Interstate 40 and the ability to travel between the three populations; they need genetic rescue, which requires expedited releases from the captive population; human caused mortality must decrease; and there must be an absolute minimum of 750 wolves in the wild. 

Arizona’s Game and Fish Commission and Department have long opposed the scientists’ recommendations by blocking releases, advocating for loosened restrictions on killing and trapping wolves, and insisting that wolves be kept south of I-40. Members of the Arizona state legislature have repeatedly tried to pass laws to further endanger Mexican gray wolves. And with this letter, Governor Ducey has publicly stated his intention to dismiss the science and disrespect the majority of Arizona’s voters who support the Mexican wolf reintroduction, and new populations north of I-40.

Deplorably, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been giving in to the demands of states hostile to wolf recovery and has recently shut the public and the scientists out of planning for the Mexican gray wolf’s future by initiating closed door meetings with representatives from the four corners states.

It is critical at this time that wolf supporters in all four states speak out loudly against their elected and appointed officials’ efforts to sabotage the Mexican gray wolf.

Please join us at the press conference in Phoenix on January 14th.

You can also help by signing this petition telling Arizona Game and Fish to stop undermining wolf recovery. Copies of the petition will be delivered to Governor Ducey on January 14th.

Please also call or email the Governor.
Tell him/his staff that as an Arizona resident and wolf supporter, you are disappointed in his actions to obstruct wolf recovery. Ask him to respect the peer-reviewed research of the Mexican gray wolf science and planning subgroup and to use his influence to ensure the wolves’ recovery, for their own sake and for the sake of the lands they will help restore.
Phone: 602.542.4331
Email

Messages to Interior Secretary Jewell and USFWS Director Dan Ashe will make a difference as well, since they have authority over the Mexican wolf reintroduction. Act here.

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