Mexican Grey Wolf Management

Mexican Grey Wolf Management

 

 

Background and History:

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The Mexican Grey Wolf is native to New Mexico but was extirpated from the state in the early 1970’s.  Under legal pressure from environmental groups a reintroduction program was created in 1991 which resulted in the reintroduction of nine wolves into the Gila National Forest. These released populations are designated as a ‘non-essential experimental population’ (a designation associated with the 10(j) agreement between USFWS and NMDGF) and allowed to disperse and range throughout these national forests. The 'experimental' designation allows researchers to capture and relocate animals involved in livestock predation or travel beyond the recovery areas. This designation also enables citizens to deter attacks on livestock.

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The USFWS’ goal of a self-sustaining Mexican gray wolf population, at least as it was determined by USFWS during their plan revision in 2022, has yet to be achieved. determined that “the species would be considered for downlisting from “endangered” to “threatened” when either the U.S. population of wolves reaches 320 for four consecutive years, or the Mexican population reached 170 for the same number of years. Animal welfare advocates have been seeking policies to raise the bar on delisting criteria for several years. These sentiments are driven primarily by emotion rather than a science based wildlife management approach and is inconstant with a holistic wildlife management strategy for all other species in the state.

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DSC New Mexico Position:

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DSC New Mexico maintains that the recovery goals currently in place are sufficient and we are actively working to ensure that the USFWS does not make changes to expand the historical range or increase the recovery objective in the range.