For Immediate Release May 31, 2024

MEDIA CONTACTS

Michael Robinson, Center for Biological Diversity (575) 313-7017, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Claire Musser, Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project, (928) 202-1325, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Conservationists hope for released pups to survive in face of worsening genetic crisis

Albuquerque, NM – Advocates hope that 27 endangered Mexican gray wolf pups fostered into wild dens in Arizona and New Mexico will add genetic diversity to the population. However, concerns remain that more must be done to save this unique southwestern subspecies of the gray wolf. 

“I hope all these little wolves survive and flourish, but it’s troubling that they weren’t released with their parents,” said Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity. “So many pups released this way in past years simply disappeared, so I’m not optimistic. It’s such a shame that the government didn’t release wolf packs, which would provide a much better chance of survival without separating families.”

Advocates are wishing the best for all the pups and their new adoptive families as they celebrate the boost to the Mexican wolf population. However, it isn’t just about numbers. The over-reliance on fostering is resulting in a rapidly closing window for genetic rescue of Mexican wolves as the population grows and it gets harder to increase gene diversity. Relying on cross fostering alone is taking too long to address the looming threat that inbreeding poses to the future of Mexican gray wolves.

Of the 99 captive-born wolf pups released to the wild without their parents in springtime from 2016 to 2023, just 24 were known to be alive in their first winter or thereafter, and just 18 survived to adulthood at age two. In contrast, three-quarters of the captive-born adult wolf pairs released with dependent pups in areas of adequate native prey and no other wolves where they were released, survived and successfully raised pups. The last release of a captive-born well-bonded wolf family was in 2006. Opposition to wolf family releases is counter to recovery science and is politically motivated, largely in deference to Arizona and New Mexico state wildlife agencies dominated by the livestock industry.

Pup fostering can aid wolf recovery, but the fostered pups have to survive and raise families of their own in the wild to contribute meaningfully to long-term conservation. While fostering has contributed a small amount to improving gene diversity in the wild population, it is not sufficient to address the genetic crisis. Wild Mexican gray wolves are still about as related to each other as full siblings.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service must act now to add the introduction of well-bonded families of wolves into the wild to address the genetic emergency; better aid recovery of Mexican wolves; and improve resilience, the ability to adapt in the face of a changing environment, and redundancy. Releases of well-bonded wolf families, parents with their pups, have proven to be successful and will immediately boost gene diversity, increase the number of breeding pairs, expand the distribution of lobos, and support the highly social nature of wolves. The intentional restoration of multiple wolf populations is a fail-safe against extinction. 

Meanwhile, human-caused mortality, artificial boundaries, and interference with wolves roaming freely in habitat of their choosing makes changing policy even more urgent. Claire Musser, the Executive Director of the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project says, “we must allow our wolves to disperse to the ideal habitat north of I-40 freely. We have so much we can learn from our dispersing wolves, and if we are serious about Mexican wolf recovery we need to start working with wolves and not against them.” 

The collaborative foster efforts of the Mexican Wolf SAFE program, nonprofits like LightHawk Conservation, and biologists and technicians working on the ground should also be backed up by policy changes and robust commitment from state leadership in Arizona and New Mexico and federal leaders in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Forest Service to ensure lobos are protected wherever they may roam. Native carnivores like the Mexican gray wolf have an important role to play in the environment. Thriving wolf populations and healthy landscapes depend on the partnership demonstrated during pup fostering operations being amplified beyond pup season. 

Background

The Mexican gray wolf is the southernmost subspecies of gray wolf in North America, and the most endangered. Exterminated from the wild in the United States and Mexico, seven unrelated wolves were successfully bred in captivity after the Mexican wolf was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 1976. Reintroduction into Arizona and New Mexico began in 1998. The most recent annual census shows at least 257 Mexican gray wolves in the wild in the United States and fewer than 20 in Mexico, where reintroduction began in 2011.   

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For immediate release: April 30, 2024

MEDIA CONTACTS: 

Greta Anderson, Western Watersheds Project, (520) 623-1878; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

Chris Smith, WildEarth Guardians, (505) 395-6177, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Regan Downey, Wolf Conservation Center, (914) 763-2373; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Claire Musser, Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project (928) 202-1325;  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Greens applaud translocation of Mexican gray wolves to southeastern Arizona

DOUGLAS, Ariz. – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s translocated a Mexican gray wolf family back to the wild in southeastern Arizona on Monday, a move conservation groups are celebrating as a successful step in lobo recovery. The wolves, a female called “Llave” (#1828) and her mate, “Wonder” (#2774) were both originally born in the wild in the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area. 

Both wolves were removed from the wild last fall with the intention that they would pair bond in captivity prior to translocation back in the home range on the border of New Mexico that Llave shared with her previous mate (#1582), who was killed in spring 2023. During the summer of 2023, she made several forays north of Interstate 10 but never found a male on her own, leading to her capture in the Peloncillo Mountains. Wonder was removed in November from the San Carlos Apache Reservation at the Tribe’s request. Both wolves spent the winter in captivity at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge near Albuquerque.    

“We couldn’t be happier that the Service put these wolves back in the wild of the Sky Islands where Mexican gray wolves have lived for thousands of years,” said Greta Anderson, deputy director of Western Watersheds Project. “It’s fantastic news for the wolf program that we’ll have more breeding wolves in more places in Arizona, restoring native wildlife that are so key to healthy ecosystems.” 

“Restoring these wolves to the wild is definitely worth celebrating,” said Chris Smith, southwest wildlife advocate for WildEarth Guardians. “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would do well to release more bonded family packs of endangered lobos into the Southwest to help ease the genetic crisis this species is facing.”

“The re-release of Llave and Wonder is exhilarating, both for them and for lobo supporters across the country,” said Regan Downey, director of education at the Wolf Conservation Center. “Llave was named by an impassioned youth advocate who hopes that one day all lobos will roam wild landscapes – let’s make her dreams come true.”

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For Immediate Release March 5, 2024

Contacts:

Greta Anderson, Western Watersheds Project (520) 623-1878; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Claire Musser, Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project (928) 202-1325 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Regan Downey, Wolf Conservation Center (914) 763-2373, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Craig Miller, Defenders of Wildlife (520) 623-9653 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Mary Katherine Ray, Rio Grande Chapter Sierra Club (575) 537-1095 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sally Paez, New Mexico Wild (505) 350-0664; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

MEXICAN GRAY WOLVES NUMBERS GO UP, BUT NUMBERS AREN’T THE WHOLE STORY AND POPULATION STILL DANGEROUSLY LOW, SAY GREENS 

Mexican gray wolf population count increases, but lobos are still among rarest species in the southwestern U.S. 

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (Service) released the results of its 2023 wild Mexican gray wolf population count today, revealing that the number of wolves in the wild in Arizona and New Mexico increased to a minimum of 257 wolves. This development isn’t all positive, however, as the wild population’s genetic crisis becomes harder to fix as the population expands. While the Service continues to define recovery of the species according to the overall population count, conservation groups point to the lack of genetic diversity as a long-term threat to the species.

“It’s bittersweet to see the numbers of wolves in the wild increasing, knowing that very little is being done to address the high levels of inbreeding in that population,” said Greta Anderson, deputy director of Western Watersheds Project. “The agencies will claim this new benchmark shows a trajectory to success, but they aren’t measuring the indicators of genetic diversity which must be addressed with improved policies around adult and family group releases.” 

“The survival of some cross fostered pups, including one born at the Wolf Conservation Center in 2023, is a testament to the love and support shown by wolf parents to their families, but cross foster survival alone won’t fix the genetic crisis. There are hundreds of lobos in captivity, each waiting for the opportunity to reclaim their ancestral homes. We should aim to solve two problems at once and resume adult and family group releases to improve wild genetic diversity and create space in captive facilities,” said Regan Downey, director of education at the Wolf Conservation Center.

Wolves also need access to additional suitable habitat where packs can spread out and provide ecological benefits as a keystone species. Unfortunately, political opposition to expanded habitat into northern Arizona and New Mexico has also hampered the recovery of the species by preventing multiple subpopulations that science shows the lobos need. 

“​​The best available science shows us that suitable wolf habitat exists in the Grand Canyon ecoregion, north of the arbitrary I-40 boundary. Wolves need to disperse for their recovery to be successful, and our wandering wolves should be granted the freedom to roam and establish their packs wherever they choose,”  said Claire Musser, executive director of the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project. 

The border wall between the United States and Mexico also continues to block wildlife movement and habitat connectivity. It has prevented Mexican gray wolves from freely moving back and forth between the US and Mexico populations, further jeopardizing recovery and exacerbating the genetic isolation of the two existing populations. 

“The overall growth in the numbers of Mexican wolves in the wild is the result of hard work and coordination between many partners,” said Craig Miller, senior Southwest representative for Defenders of Wildlife. “But without more effort to improve the genetics of the population, we can’t celebrate yet. We have a long way to go for the Mexican gray wolf to fulfill its ecological potential.”

“As someone who for the first time recently heard a pair of wolves howling into the mountain night, I was awestruck by the haunting beauty of the sound,” said Mary Katherine Ray, Wildlife Chair for the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club. “I know these wolves are too closely related and much more needs to be done to address their lack of gene diversity. The alternative is a population that is at risk of extinction a second time no matter how many there are in the wild now. The mountain night losing its wild wolf howls again is unthinkable.” 

“The expanded Mexican gray wolf population would not be possible without the protection of wild places like the Gila Wilderness, which celebrates its centennial anniversary this year,” said Sally Paez, staff attorney for New Mexico Wild. “Having more of these keystone predators on the landscape will improve ecosystem health and provide more opportunities for people to see and hear the species in the wild.” 

Forward-thinking management is needed to ensure that Mexican gray wolves have the freedom to roam and the legal protection they need to thrive in the wild, including management policies that adequately address the impacts of illegal killing, the risk of genetic inbreeding, climate change, and habitat encroachment. 

Background on Mexican Gray Wolves:

The lobo, or Mexican gray wolf, is the smallest, most genetically distinct, and one of the rarest subspecies of the gray wolf. These native southwestern wolves were listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1976 after being eradicated in the wild. Reintroduction efforts began in 1998, but conservation efforts have suffered without the implementation of recommended recovery actions. 

For years, scientists have recommended to the Service that there be three subpopulations of at least 200 wolves each (with a minimum of 750 total), spread throughout the southwestern United States, including areas like the Grand Canyon Ecoregion and the Southern Rockies (Carroll et al. 2006; Wayne and Hedrick 2011; Carroll et al. 2014; Hendricks, et al. 2016). Scientists warn that this metapopulation structure and geographic distribution are imperative to the recovery of Mexican wolves. Unfortunately, we are still far short of this scientific recommendation.

Learn more at www.mexicanwolves.org.

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For immediate release November 29, 2023

Media contacts:
Greta Anderson, Western Watersheds Project (520)623-1878; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Chris Smith, WildEarth Guardians, (505) 395-6177, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Claire Musser, Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project, (928) 202-1325 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Mary Katherine Ray, Rio Grande Chapter Sierra Club, (575) 537-1095, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Regan Downey, Wolf Conservation Center, (914) 763-2373, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Asha’s visit to northern New Mexico offers hope for recovery 

Groups applaud agencies for letting Mexican gray wolf roam north of Interstate 40

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Conservation groups are applauding state and federal agencies’ willingness to let Asha, a roaming Mexican gray wolf (#2754), stay wild as she explores the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico. This is the second time this year that she’s crossed the invisible and ecologically senseless border out of the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area (MWEPA) and ventured north of the arbitrary boundary of Interstate 40. However, unlike with her January 2023 foray, the state and federal wildlife agencies say they have “no immediate plans” to capture her at this time. 

“She’s tasting a freedom that no other known Mexican gray wolves have experienced since they were killed off in the U.S. at the behest of the livestock industry during the last century,” said Greta Anderson, deputy director of Western Watersheds Project. “She’s been wild in northern New Mexico for 27 days, which is almost twice as long as the amount of time they let her roam north of Interstate 40 last January. This shows progress, and we’re delighted that they are following the science and letting her stay where she chooses.”

“The fact that Asha has been allowed to do what most wild animals do is perhaps a sign that wildlife policy is in fact progressing,” said Chris Smith, southwest wildlife advocate for WildEarth Guardians. “She is exploring an area where wolves lived for thousands of years until humans wiped them out. It’s a natural thing to do and it’s good to see that heavy-handed management isn’t getting in the way of that exploration.”

Numerous peer-reviewed scientific papers have demonstrated that Mexican gray wolf recovery depends on multiple subpopulations of wolves in the wild, including in the southern Rockies of Colorado and New Mexico and in the Grand Canyon Ecoregion of northern Arizona and southern Utah. Advocates have repeatedly asked the agencies to remove the Interstate 40 boundary and let wolves expand northward. 

“It’s great that there are no plans to capture her at this time, and why should they? Asha is leading the way by keeping a low profile and fulfilling her ecological roles in great wolf habitat,” said Claire Musser, executive director of Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project. “Any movement to capture her now would be as arbitrary as the boundary, and we’re pleased to see the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acting rationally to let her stay wild.” 

There has been overwhelming public support for her continued freedom. Conservation organizations report that thousands of members of the public have sent letters or signed a petition asking New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and the wildlife agencies to let her wander. Multiple letters to the editor and opinion pieces have expressed favorable opinions of her continued roaming. 

“Over ten thousand voices across the country, stemming from a variety of platforms, have called on the agencies to let Asha roam and we’re grateful that they’re letting her do so,” said Regan Downey, director of education at the Wolf Conservation Center. “The American public wants Asha to stay north of I-40, and Asha herself wants to stay north of I-40. We’re thrilled!”

“As someone who lives and recreates in the Gila region in southwestern New Mexico where wolves are returning, the possibility of seeing or hearing a lobo is life enriching,” said Mary Katherine Ray, wildlife chair of the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club. “Whether Asha finds a mate or not in Northern New Mexico, her presence is repairing something that was broken when wolves were extirpated there. Let her stay and let us humans learn from her.”

“When I heard Asha was in the Jemez Mountains, I wanted to throw her a ticker tape welcome parade for all the ecosystem benefits she would bring”, said Leia Barnett, a northern New Mexico hunter who harvested an elk in the Jemez Mountains this fall.

“It will be so interesting to see where she goes and what she chooses to do on her journey. Sure, she might miss a chance to find a mate this winter, but she might accomplish so much more for her species by demonstrating corridors of wolf dispersal,” said Anderson. “I really hope they let her continue to wander.” 

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For immediate release: November 7, 2023

Media contacts: 

Greta Anderson, Western Watersheds Project (520)623-1878; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Claire Musser, Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project (928)202 1325 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Chris Smith, WildEarth Guardians, 505-395-6177, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Regan Downey, Wolf Conservation Center (914)763-2373, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Conservation Groups Formally Ask for Mexican Gray Wolf ‘Asha’ To Remain Free

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Conservation organizations, on behalf of thousands of members, formally asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and New Mexico Department of Game and Fish to let wandering Mexican gray wolf “Asha” roam free in northern New Mexico. The letter specifically notes that efforts to relocate Asha earlier in 2023 were ineffective, and asked that the federal and state governments provide her safe passage. 

“The agencies would have the public believe that they don’t have a choice but to capture and relocate Asha, but it’s not true. The management agreement says that the agencies will monitor the wolf for 14 days and initiate and implement plans to translocate ‘with full consideration for the welfare of the wolf and the affected human environment where the wolf is located,’” said Greta Anderson, deputy director of Western Watersheds Project. “Asha’s welfare and well-being depend on her being able to fulfill her primal instincts and go where she pleases. She’s not causing any problems for anyone, so let her roam.” 

“The policy of tracking, darting, transporting, and relocating wild animals who cross an arbitrary line on a map is entirely senseless,” said Chris Smith, southwest wildlife advocate for WildEarth Guardians. “There is no harm in letting Asha roam in habitat that historically had wolves. Fear mongering and making this seem like an emergency situation doesn’t help Asha or anyone else.”

“The agencies are so hung up on keeping Mexican gray wolves within their historic range, but human presence has changed the landscape. Asha and all wildlife live in the present, responding to climate change and habitat fragmentation, and seeking new territories that suit their immediate needs,” said Claire Musser, Executive Director at the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project. “Scientists have said all along that northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, along with the Grand Canyon ecoregion, are suitable habitat for lobos. Asha is simply proving the concept and we should let her lead the way.” 

“Asha hasn’t ‘established’ territory outside of the Interstate 40 boundary, so this push to remove her is premature according to their own agreements,” said Regan Downey, Director of Education at the Wolf Conservation Center. “She’s dispersing, much like famous wolves Journey and Echo, and like these wolves, her travels can change the course of history. Let’s learn from her, not capture her.”

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For immediate release: November 2, 2023

Wildlife advocates urge agencies to let roaming wolf “Asha” go where she needs

Dispersal to southern Rocky Mountains is supported by leading scientists

SANTA FE, NM – Asha, a lone female wolf famous for her foray into the Sangre de Cristo Mountains last year, has once again ventured into northern New Mexico. Her location in the Jemez Mountains was publicized by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish in an apparent effort to protect her from hunters who might mistake her for a coyote. But conservation and wildlife groups are also trying to protect her from the state and federal wildlife agencies who might try to capture her and return her to the arbitrary bounds of the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area (MWEPA) south of Interstate 40.

“An essential part of being a wolf is roaming and dispersing to suitable, available habitat like that in the Jemez Mountains,” said Chris Smith, southwest wildlife advocate for WildEarth Guardians. “The best science indicates that lobos need to re-establish in the southern Rocky Mountains–where Asha is currently–in order to truly recover.”

Last year, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish led the recapture effort that eventually saw Asha sent to Arizona after time in captivity. She is among a growing number of Mexican wolves, including Anubis in Arizona, who are dispersing out of the Gila Bioregion in search of more territory and mates.

“This is an incredible wolf who has shown us that she’s determined to see what’s beyond the current recovery area,” said Greta Anderson, deputy director of Western Watersheds Project. “There’s no reason to remove her. She’s never had conflict with livestock, never displayed any human habituation, and simply wants to run north. I hope we let her, and see what we can learn from her wandering.” 

“Asha is doing her part to further Mexican gray wolf recovery by trying to disperse into unoccupied suitable habitat,” said Sally Paez, staff attorney for New Mexico Wild. “Asha's journey demonstrates the urgent need to rethink wolf recovery strategies. Ideal habitats for Mexican wolves extend north of I-40, and it's crucial to consider their need to follow natural corridors and establish sub-populations in additional areas.”

“Wolves are meant to wander, and Asha’s movements are evidence of what independent scientists have been saying for years; ideal habitat for Mexican wolves exists north of I-40,” said Regan Downey, director of education of the Wolf Conservation Center. “Asha is telling us what she needs in order to thrive, so let’s listen. Let her stay.”

“Asha keeps showing us that she wants to roam north of I-40 and find her own territory,” said Claire Musser, the Executive Director of the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project, “historical range does not account for the anthropogenically caused situation that lobos find themselves in today and in the future. Their wild areas are disappearing due to climate change, habitat fragmentation, biodiversity loss, human presence, and intersected landscapes. We need to let all wolves, including Asha, adapt and find their own ways to navigate their new landscape.” 

“Wolves are smart but they’re not known for reading federal regulations and shouldn’t be bound by arbitrary political boundaries,” said Michael Robinson, a senior conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “And although wolves also don’t read peer-reviewed studies, it’s striking that Asha’s movements prove scientists’ theories correct. The southern Rockies is within loping reach of Mexican wolves and should be part of their recovery area.”

“Every time a wolf is captured, that animal risks being injured or worse,” said Mary Katherine Ray, Wildlife Chair for the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club. “Asha has not settled with any eligible single wolf south of I-40. She and wolf biologists agree that there is suitable wolf habitat north of the arbitrary I-40 boundary. We should let her be wild and find her own way.”

Lobos that disperse north of Interstate 40 are typically captured (at taxpayer expense) and taken into captivity or re-released in the Gila Bioregion. However, independent, peer reviewed science strongly suggests that recovery for Mexican wolves will entail three interconnected subpopulations of at least 200 wolves each, one in the Gila Bioregion, one in the southern Rocky Mountains, and one in the Grand Canyon Ecoregion. The current MWEPA boundary locks lobos into a tiny portion of their historic range.

Mexican gray wolves look very similar to coyotes, and the species can be hard to distinguish at a distance. In general, Mexican gray wolves are larger and have more rounded ears than coyotes. Killing a Mexican gray wolf is a federal crime, and hunters are expected to know the identity of their targets prior to shooting. More information: 

https://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/download/publications/rib/2022/hunting/29-Wolves.pdf

Image Credit: USFWS

Media contacts:

Chris Smith, WildEarth Guardians, 505-395-6177 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Michael Robinson, Center for Biological Diversity, 575-313-7017 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Greta Anderson, Western Watersheds Project, 520-623-1878 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Sally Paez, New Mexico Wild, 505-350-0664 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Regan Downey, Wolf Conservation Center, 914-763-2373 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Mary Katherine Ray, Wildlife Chair, Rio Grande Chapter Sierra Club, 575-537-1095 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Claire Musser, Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project, 928-202-1325 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.