Wildlife foundation takes sides in Mexican gray wolf lawsuit

Posted: Monday, September 26, 2016 

Associated Press 

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A wildlife foundation started by former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and actor Robert Redford is stepping into the fray between state and federal government over the Mexican gray wolf. The Foundation to Protect New Mexico Wildlife announced Sunday it was siding with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's wolf release plan in an ongoing lawsuit, filing an amicus brief with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.

The state of New Mexico was granted a preliminary injunction in June, stopping any wolf releases while the two parties battle over permits and the revamping of a recovery plan.

The state took legal action in April after federal officials released a pair of captive-born pups into a wild wolf den in southwestern New Mexico despite having no permit.


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