Conservationists Take Aim at Flawed New Rule on Mexican Gray Wolf Management
Changes Unjustifiably Cap Wolf Population at 325,
Preclude Recovery North of I-40, Loosen Restrictions on Killing Wolves
TUCSON, Ariz.— Conservationists say they’ll fight provisions in a new federal rule that caps the population of endangered Mexican gray wolves in the Southwest at numbers too low for recovery, bans them from needed recovery habitat, and makes it easier for them to be killed. While the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s new rule allows wolves in an expanded area, the other provisions will impede the long-term recovery of these rare animals.
The Service also announced today that it will protect the Mexican wolf under the Endangered Species Act as a subspecies separate from other wolves, which will provide Mexican wolves the right to a long-delayed recovery plan. Both new rules stemmed from petitions and lawsuits filed by the Center for Biological Diversity.
Conservationists Take Aim at Flawed New Rule on Mexican Gray Wolf Management.