Two Mexican gray wolves have
been released in southeastern Arizona, but another pair have been
removed in New Mexico after roaming too far north, sparking more
criticism from environmentalists about the way the wild population is
being managed.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed expanding
the area where the predators are allowed to roam, but it could be months
before a final decision is reached. Until then, the agency is required
to capture those wolves found outside the nearly 7,000-square-mile
wolf-recovery area, which straddles the Arizona-New Mexico line.
That was the case with a pair that had traveled north to El
Malpais National Monument near Grants. They had been in the area since
February before wildlife managers darted and captured them last Friday.
This was the farthest north a pair of Mexican gray wolves
had been documented, said Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological
Diversity. “This is excellent habitat. It’s remote country, and filled
with deer,” he said. “This would have been an opportunity for the
population to expand naturally.”
Ranchers and community leaders in rural areas have opposed
any plans that would expand the program and the locations where the
wolves could be released. They say the wolves threaten the livelihoods
and safety of residents who live in areas that border the reintroduction
zone.
The two wolves captured at El Malpais were returned to the
agency’s wolf center in New Mexico. They could be released later in the
Gila Wilderness. To bolster wolf numbers, officials on Wednesday released the
first of two breeding pairs in Arizona’s Apache National Forest. The
pair included a pregnant female and a wild male captured during the
annual wolf population survey in January.
Another breeding pair being held at the wolf center in New Mexico will be released next week.
Eva Lee Sargent, director of Defenders of Wildlife’s
Southwest Program, said the releases are good news. If the pairs
succeed, she said, their offspring will add to the genetic diversity of
the struggling population.
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