Event: Mexican Wolf Education and Activism

Mexican Wolf Education and Activism

April 10 — 6pm — 8pm

Southwest Environmental Center

275 N Downtown Mall

Las Cruces NM 88001

On April 10 from 6pm-8pm, the Southwest Environmental Center is presenting two intriguing and important talks. Both will stress the importance of advocating for the most endangered mammal in North America, New Mexico’s own Mexican wolf (Lobo) The First, “Assessing the Effectiveness of Zoo-Based Education on The Mexican Gray Wolf” will be presented by Brianne Cordier and will be followed by Jason Burke’s “Wolf Activism: Taking the Next Steps”.

Breanne Cordier, who graduated with a B.S. in Biology in 2010, and now works as a full-time research technician in the Behavior Lab of the NMSU Biology Department, will be presenting her findings from a study she did on Mexican wolves in zoos and sanctuaries. In her own words “This study was designed to determine whether zoo-based education about the Mexican wolf is effectively reaching the public in the Southwest, an important demographic for the protection of this endangered species.” Her findings are quite interesting and are extremely important to how we approach future education, advocacy, and activism.

Jason Burke is the Field Organizer at the Southwest Environmental Center, and focuses his work on Mexican wolf advocacy. He will start with a brief summary of the plight of these wolves, and an update on their latest status. The bulk of his talk will address how we should move forward as activists in support of Mexican wolf recovery. This ties in well to Breanne’s talk, as education is at the heart of activism.  “I strongly believe that grassroots activism is the way to effect change in terms of Mexican wolf reintroduction and protection. Education is the foundation for this, but is not enough to achieve the necessary goals. We must mobilize Mexican wolf supporters and activate this base to put pressure on our elected and appointed officials.” Jason will talk about traditional and non-traditional forms of activism that will hopefully bring the results that we hope to see.

The event will take place at the Southwest Environmental Center, at 275 N Downtown Mall, Las Cruces NM 88001. For more information call (575) 522-5552, email jason@wildmesquite.org, or check out www.wildmesquite.org

Contact:

Jason Burke

(575) 522-5552