Wolf News

08
Feb

In the News: Gray Wolf Population Up by 30%

LAS CRUCES — The wild population of endangered Mexican gray wolves grew by nearly 30 percent last year to a total of 75, the largest tally in the history of the nearly 15-year-old project.

Benjamin Tuggle, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Southwest regional director, noted that the hotly debated effort to recover lobos in the wild has been beset by challenges, but in announcing the 2012 census, he said, “The bottom line is that I think this result shows we are moving toward our recovery goal.”

Tuggle cited illegal poaching, which accounted for four wolf deaths, and limited genetic diversity, which is associated with smaller litter sizes and higher pup mortality, as the main challenges to greater growth of the wild population.

According to the January count, there are 38 wolves in New Mexico and 37 in Arizona. The total includes 20 pups who survived from spring to the end of the year.

While only three packs had lobos that met the federal definition of a breeding pair — an adult male and female that produced at least two pups surviving until the end of the year — Fish and Wildlife biologist Maggie Dwire said that seven packs produced at least one pup that survived through December.

Several environmental groups greeted the news of the lobo population increase Wednesday, but each called on the Fish and Wildlife Service to act more aggressively to promote growth in the numbers, in particular through more releases of captive-bred wolves living in captivity.

In 1998, state and federal partners released 11 Mexican wolves into the Apache National Forest in the effort to recover a species that had been hunted to the brink of extinction. The sluggish growth of the wild lobo population, dogged by illegal killings and official management practices that in the past required the removal of wolves blamed for killing three livestock in a one-year period, frustrated wolf advocates.

Before the initial 1998 release of wolves in Arizona, biologists estimated there would be 100 wolves in the Southwest and 18 breeding pairs by 2006. For nine years, from the start of 2003 through 2011, the wolf count averaged 50.

In the last four years, Fish and Wildlife only released one male wolf, in early January, to a primary recovery zone in Arizona, an area to which new releases are restricted under program rules. When that wolf failed to mate with a targeted female, the agency recaptured the male after less than one month, and paired him with a captive female with a goal of releasing the pack sometime this year.

Eva Sargent, Southwest program director for Defenders of Wildlife, urged Fish and Wildlife to implement a “genetic rescue plan immediately.”

“For almost 15 years, management actions have kept wild population numbers low, decreasing genetic variability and the ability of this rarest wolf subspecies to adapt and survive,” Sargent said.

“This puts the entire subspecies in a very vulnerable position that requires swift action from the Service for their long-term recovery.”

Kevin Bixby, director of the Southwest Environmental Center in Las Cruces, called for the immediate release of some of the more than 300 Mexican wolves held in captivity: “That could and should happen tomorrow.”

Tuggle said his agency plans to address concerns about limited genetic diversity with releases this year, but he did not provide details about the number or schedule of releases.


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The letters to the editor page is one of the most widely read, influential parts of the newspaper. One letter from you can reach thousands of people and will also likely be read by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  Tips and talking points for writing your letter are below, but please write in your own words, from your own experience.


Letter Writing Tips & Talking Points

Below are a few suggestions for ensuring your message gets through clearly-your letter will be most effective if you focus on a few key points, so don’t try to use all of these. If you need additional help or want someone to review your letter before you send it, email it to info@mexicanwolves.org.

The overall population increase reported is good news, but still too small, and the decline in breeding pairs of Mexican gray wolves in the wild shows that much more needs to be done, and soon.

Geneticists have warned for years that the wild population needs greater diversity, but the US Fish and Wildlife Service has only released one new wolf into the wild in the past five years and removed a successful breeding alpha female last year over livestock.

The increase in population shows the resiliency and tenacity of these special wolves, but more pups from the same few breeding pairs will not solve the genetic issue. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must implement an emergency genetic rescue plan and release many more wolves into the wild.

Almost 15 years after the first Mexican wolves were reintroduced, there are still only 75 wolves in the wild, and only 3 pairs whose pups survived this year. More wolves to form more breeding pairs are needed to stop inbreeding that researchers suggest may be lowering litter sizes and depressing pup-survival rates.

The window is closing on fixing the genetic issue, and one of the easiest steps the US Fish and Wildlife Service can take is to release more wolves from captivity, and do it now.

Since August, 2006, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has only released two new Mexican gray wolves into the wild, in spite of warnings about genetics from scientists.

This population increase is because of the wolves’ amazing ability to survive and breed pups. It is in spite of the Fish and Wildlife Service’s failure to make needed changes and release more wolves.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service also needs to make changes to allow Mexican wolves to recolonize a larger area of their former range and serve their important role in shaping the Southwest’s ecosystems.

There is plenty of room for many more wolves to be released. The Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area comprises 4.4 million acres (twice the size of Yellowstone National Park), which support an extraordinary array of wildlife and vegetation types.  The Fish and Wildlife Service has refused to change the rule that arbitrarily excludes new wolves from being released outside a small portion of the recovery area in Arizona, and is using the mere presence of livestock as a justification not to release wolves into a wider range of the available area in Arizona.

General:

Mexican gray wolves are unique animals. They are the rarest, most genetically distinct subspecies of gray wolf in North America and the most endangered wolf in the world.

The wolf is a benefit to the West and helps maintain the balance of nature.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service should manage Mexican gray wolves to ensure their recovery and not risk extinction again.

Mexican gray wolves are intelligent, beautiful, family-oriented animals.

Mexican gray wolves are an essential part of the balance of nature. They keep elk and deer herds healthy by ensuring the most fit animals survive.

Wolves are part of God’s creation. We have a responsibility to take care of them.


Photo credit:  Wolf Conservation Center

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