Backers Say Wolves Need More Protection
	From the 2000

Tuesday, November 14, 2000
By Tania Soussan
Journal Staff Writer
    Mexican gray wolves that have been reintroduced in southwestern New Mexico and eastern Arizona need more protection, according to conservationists.
    The wolves are part of an experimental program in which U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists hope to re-establish a healthy population in the wild.
    Although the species is endangered, the animals in the program are classified as "experimental nonessential." That means they don't enjoy all the protections of endangered animals. For example, someone who sees a wolf attacking a domestic animal on private land can shoot the wolf.
    "The animal still has protection under the Endangered Species Act and people are not supposed to harass or harm the animals," said Tom Bauer, spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Service in Albuquerque.
    But the gray wolves need more protection, said Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity in Silver City.
    He said the experimental nonessential designation has hampered the recovery of the species, which was hunted to the brink of extinction in the early 1900s.
    Five wolves have been shot in the last 21/2 years, and three have been struck and killed by vehicles. Several other wolves have disappeared and may be dead.
    "The fact that wolves are being killed by unidentified drivers and are disappearing despite relatively intensive telemetry monitoring indicates a strong possibility that illegal killing is still taking place," the center said in comments submitted to the Fish and Wildlife Service.
    Fish and Wildlife has released several packs of wolves into the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona. Some of the animals were recaptured after they killed cattle and then were moved to the Gila National Forest.
    Rules for the program don't allow animals to be released directly into New Mexico. The Center for Biological Diversity said that should be changed.
    "Unfortunately, the wolves that were translocated into the Gila have not prospered," the center's comments state. "In contrast, some wolves born into captivity and released just once into the wild are successfully reproducing and maintaining their families' integrity."
    The center's comments were made as part of a Fish and Wildlife Service proposal to remove gray wolves — outside of the Mexican wolf population in Arizona and New Mexico — from the endangered species list.
    Meanwhile, Defenders of Wildlife petitioned the federal government Monday to reintroduce gray wolves to the Southern Rockies, including northern New Mexico.

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