Guardians and allies are suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over its deeply flawed Mexican wolf (lobo) “recovery” plan. The plan, devised in closed meetings with only state game department representatives present, was designed by politicians and anti-wolf states; unsurprisingly, it doesn’t have the wolves’ best interests at heart.
To avoid extinction, lobos must a) have enough wolves in the population to sustain it in the long term, with minimal inbreeding; and b) have enough habitat in which to roam. The recovery plan provides for neither of these necessities, imposing an arbitrary cap on wolf populations and ignoring habitats where lobos could thrive, including the southern Rocky Mountains and the Grand Canyon area. It’s also rife with inaccurate data on extinction, population abundance, geographic distribution, and genetic criteria.
At tremendous risk of extinction due to their small population size and limited gene pool, as well as threats from trapping and illegal killings, these imperiled carnivores need all the help we can give them. This plan doesn’t protect lobos—it fails them.
Read the press release.
