WASHINGTON, D.C. — A piece of legislation introduced last month could spell trouble for Mexican gray wolf conservation efforts in Arizona.
Introduced
by U.S. Senators Jeff Flake and John McCain, it would require the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service to work with state and local entities for
input in drafting a new recovery plan. Failure to comply with the plan
would see Arizona and New Mexico able to “supplement or assume
management of the recovery process,” according to a press release from
Flake's office.
This aggressive action against the
program comes after a recent move by Cochise County to challenge federal
regulations governing water usage and habitat of the wolf to the tune
of $64,000. Cochise County Supervisor Ann English questioned the merits
of the program, saying, “What does this do for us again? How does this
help us keep up our roads and maintain our services?”
“This
is an important issue to Arizona; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
needs to consider the effects the Mexican gray wolf population has on
the people of Arizona and our economy when revising the outdated
recovery plan,” Flake said in his press release. Earlier this year,
Flake made an amendment in another piece of legislation that would call
for the immediate delisting of the wolf. Recent setbacks in the program
have left Republican lawmakers with plenty of ammunition in their fight
against the conservation effort. Following a settlement, the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service now must establish a recovery plan by November
2017.
“This bill,” said McCain, “would
provide state wildlife authorities and ranchers a stronger
decision-making role in the reintroduction and management of the Mexican
gray wolf, and put the program on a path toward being state-led and
more responsive to local stakeholders on the ground.”
More about the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program can be found at http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/.
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