Mexican
gray wolves face a
challenging recovery.

Mexican gray wolves became a tragic player in the "taming of the west" when habitat loss and eradication efforts to protect livestock eliminated wolves from their natural territories by 1970. In 1998, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) reintroduced this iconic species into special wolf management zones. The reintroduction has been fraught as ranchers fear predation and conservationists see the reintroduction as vital to re-establishing a truly natural habitat. While there are mitigation efforts to reduce the loss of cattle, emotions run high. The wolves’ fate remains in doubt due to an array of threats, including illegal killings by humans, low genetic diversity, and USFWS regulations that too often reflect politics instead of facts, science, and law. New Mexico Wild is at the forefront of protecting our small wolf population and keeping remote areas of the state wild enough for them to thrive.

Fortunately, there has been some good news recently. The latest population count documented 257 animals in the wild, marking a modest increase over the previous year and the eighth consecutive year of population growth. Additionally, New Mexico Wild and partner organizations, represented by the Western Environmental Law Center, are pursuing a lawsuit in federal court aimed at forcing the USFWS to adopt policies that will support the long-term recovery of Mexican wolves and to comply with the Endangered Species Act and National Environmental Policy Act. The current management rule is flawed in that it fails to address the genetic threats to Mexican wolves, prevents Mexican wolves from roaming into important habitat north of I-40, and incorrectly concludes that the experimental population of Mexican wolves is “not essential” to the species' long-term survival in the wild.

On October 4, 2022, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released the final revised recovery plan for the Mexican wolf, which includes new site-specific management actions to address the threat of human-caused mortality, including illegal killing. The revisions address the part of the plan remanded by the court and do not include any changes to the recovery strategy or criteria.

New Mexico Wild continues to take action to ensure that the USFWS follows the court's orders and upholds the responsibility to protect and recover Mexican wolves. Because, as we all know, Wolves Belong!

Please sign the petition urging the Biden Administration to protect Mexican Gray Wolves here.