05
Dec
In the News: Fish and Wildlife Service plan calls for release of 12 newborn wolf pups
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to release 12 newborn Mexican wolf pups in New Mexico and Arizona over the coming year as part of its strategy to recover an endangered species that suffers from severe inbreeding and weak genetics.
The Mexican wolf is facing a “genetic bottleneck,” the service said, adding that, “on average, individuals within the population are as related to one another as full siblings.”
Over 2018, a dozen captive pups will be matched with wild litters that have been born at roughly the same time as the domestic-bred pups, according to a plan released by the service Monday. The plan also outlines temporarily removing an adult female wolf from the Panther Creek Pack in Arizona, to avoid direct inter-sibling breeding, and allowing her to instead mate with an adult male from captivity.
Fish and Wildlife’s plan comes less than a week since the agency finalized an overall management plan for the Mexican wolves. The document drew criticism from ranchers and environmentalists alike, each dissatisfied with how the federal government intends to address the future of the wolves in the Southwest.
The plan outlines recovering 320 wolves south of Interstate 40 in New Mexico and Arizona, which would nearly triple the current populations, and establishing an additional 200 animals in Mexico. At this rate, recovery, and beginning to remove the species from the U.S. Endangered Species Act, is expected in 25 to 30 years at a cost of $178 million.
But conservation advocates said the number of animals the agency cites for “recovery” falls more than 200 short of what is needed to see the wolves thrive; it would fail to create genetic diversity, they contend. Legal action is being prepared by environmental groups against the U.S. Interior Department, which oversees Fish and Wildlife Service.
On Monday, conservationists again expressed dismay on the agency’s plans.
“It is not nearly enough to address the genetic crisis the wolf population is facing,” said Michael Robinson, a conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity.
Assuming Fish and Wildlife is able to coordinate the birth of wild and captive litters, which requires pups to be just days apart in age, Robinson said the survival of cross-breeding pups is still too low to create a noticeable genetic impact.
“It is just not enough. “¦ They should just release these pups that would be cross-fostered with their parents in new areas,” he said.
Bryan Bird, with Defenders of Wildlife, also said a plan that does not include adult wolf releases is insufficient for recovery. He also fears states may seek to force the federal government to remove a wild pup for each captive pup released, but that is not written into the current plan.
“We are disappointed that the program is expanding,” said Caren Cowan, with the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association, “but this was to be expected, to be quite honest.”
Ranchers are compensated by the federal government and environmental groups for livestock killed by wolves, but Cowan said compensation should be improved and should include the extra management time it takes to protect livestock and for pounds lost by the animals as a result of predating stresses.
“We will continue on our path to achieve some fairness to the ranchers and their families that are involved,” she said.
This article was published in the Santa Fe New Mexican.
~~~~~~~
Show your support for Mexican wolves with a Letter to the Editor today!
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 decision-makers. Tips for writing your letter are below, but please write in your own words, from your own experience. Don’t try to include all the talking points in your letter.
Letter Writing Tips & Talking Points
- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should include family groups in their release plan. Recovery won’t succeed unless they use all tools available to them, including the proven method of releasing family groups that include adult wolves.
- Cross fostering is one tool for improving the wild population’s genetic health, but it’s not enough. Many more wolves should be released this year from the hundreds in captive breeding programs. Rather than relying solely on cross-fostering, the Service should also release adults and families of wolves from captivity.
- Cross fostered pups will not contribute genetically to the wild population until they reach breeding age (2 years). The release of adults from the captive breeding program would result in a faster infusion of new genetics into the wild population.
- The wild population of Mexican wolves is at tremendous risk due to its small size and genetics. There are hundreds of wolves in the captive breeding program whose genes are not represented in the wild population.
- If captive pups were to be released with their parents, that would immediately put more genetically diverse, breeding wolves into the wild, instead of having to wait for the pups to reach breeding age and mate, which would take two or more years.
Make sure you:
“¢ Thank the paper for publishing the article
“¢ Submit your letter as soon as possible. The chance of your letter being published declines after a day or two since the article was published
“¢ Do not repeat any negative messages from the article, such as “so and so said that wolves kill too many cows, but”¦” Remember that those reading your letter will not be looking at the article it responds to, so this is an opportunity to get out positive messages about wolf recovery rather than to argue with the original article
“¢ Keep your letter brief, under 150 words
“¢ Include something about who you are and why you care: E.g. “I am a mother, outdoors person, teacher, business owner, scientific, religious, etc.”
“¢ Provide your name, address, phone number, and address. The paper won’t publish these, but they want to know you are who you say you are.
Submit your letter to the editor of the Santa Fe New Mexican
~~~~~~~~~~~
The wolf release plan will be open for public comment until Dec. 26.
Comments can be emailed to: mexicanwolfcomments@fws.gov
or mailed to:
Mexican Wolf Recovery Program, Attn: 2017 Proposed Releases in NM
2105 Osuna Rd NE
Albuquerque, N.M. 87113
