For Immediate Release, July 24, 2025

Contact: 

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.
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.
Leia Barnett, WildEarth Guardians, (970) 406-2125, 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.

Another Mexican Gray Wolf Crosses Interstate 40 in New Mexico

Conservationists Urge Wildlife Officials to Let ‘Taylor’ Roam

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— Thirty-five conservation organizations today asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service not to recapture a Mexican gray wolf who crossed Interstate 40 in New Mexico over the weekend. The wolf has returned to the area around Mount Taylor where he had previously been trapped and removed in May.

The wolf, dubbed “Taylor” for his repeated travel to the iconic mountain west of Albuquerque, was released in the Gila National Forest south of the Gila Cliff Dwellings. Over the past several weeks he covered more than 150 miles to reach Mount Taylor again.

“Taylor should be allowed to stay near his namesake mountain or wherever else he wants to go, regardless of the noxious political deal that led the Fish and Wildlife Service to ignore scientists and ban wolves north of I-40,” said Michael Robinson, a senior conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Wolves have always crossed these arbitrary lines. Now more than ever Mexican wolves need connections with wolves to the north to increase their diminished genetic diversity.”

Independent scientists have determined that Mexican wolf recovery will require the species to inhabit broader areas than presently permitted, including in the Rocky Mountains in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. Scientists also believe that connectivity with northern gray wolves in Colorado would bring much-needed genes to combat inbreeding in the Mexican wolf population.

“You can lead a wolf to the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area but you can't make him stay there,” said Greta Anderson, deputy director of Western Watersheds Project. “Taylor and the other wanderers have voted with their paws to redraw the geographic limits of the recovery area, and we should honor their meaningful input by revising the management boundaries.”

Since 2017 four other wolves have crossed I-40 and been located near Mount Taylor, likely drawn to the area because there are few people and plenty of prey such as elk. One of those wolves was Asha, who was captured twice from the region in 2023. Asha, her mate and their five genetically valuable pups are currently languishing in captivity after the Fish and Wildlife Service delayed their release without explanation.

“We are once again watching with wonder as a Mexican wolf follows its wild instincts to disperse into New Mexico’s vast swaths of good habitat north of I-40,” said Sally Paez, staff attorney for New Mexico Wild. “For the Mexican wolf to recover, it's critical that management policies allow dispersal into these additional wildlands, especially as our imperiled wolf population faces increasing pressures from chronic drought, wildfire and humans.”

“Wolves need to roam. But also, the ecosystems north of I-40 remain incomplete without the wolves that once lived there,” said Mary Katherine Ray, wildlife chair of the Rio Grande chapter of the Sierra Club. “Taylor and the wolves before him who have traveled north affirm this and fulfill the restoration of both.”

“Taylor knows where he belongs. Wolves like him are showing us what real recovery looks like, not confined by arbitrary lines, but led by instinct, resilience and the search for connection,” said Claire Musser, executive director of the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project. “If we truly care about their survival, we must let lobos lead.”

“Taylor's return to the Mount Taylor region is just more evidence that lobos want and need to move north of the arbitrary I-40 boundary,” said Leia Barnett, Greater Gila advocate for WildEarth Guardians. “This game of capturing wolves that go north and either moving them into captivity, as in Asha's case, or moving them back south is an exercise in futility and an ongoing barrier to meaningful recovery. Taylor must be allowed to roam and this should, once again, be cause for reconsideration of the I-40 boundary.”

Background

Mexican wolves are the only endangered animals that have rules requiring them to stay within politically determined boundaries. When initially reintroduced in 1998, the wolves were largely confined to the Gila National Forest in New Mexico and the Apache National Forest and Fort Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona.

A 2004 Center for Biological Diversity petition showed that the region was insufficient and requested the wolves be allowed to roam. Two follow-up lawsuits led to a 2015 rule allowing the wolves to roam from the border with Mexico to I-40, even though by that time additional research showed the wolves needed lands north of I-40 for their recovery.

Mexican gray wolves near Mt. Taylor, New Mexico map by Western Watersheds Project and Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project. Image is available for media use.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.8 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

The Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project is dedicated to bringing back wolves to help restore ecological health in the Grand Canyon region, while also recognizing wolves as sentient beings with intrinsic value and worth.

Founded in 1997, New Mexico Wild is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) grassroots organization dedicated to the protection, restoration, and continued enjoyment of New Mexico’s wildlands and wilderness areas. For decades, New Mexico Wild has been at the forefront of protecting our small Mexican wolf population, keeping remote areas of the state wild enough for them to thrive and advocating for responsible wildlife management policies.

The mission of the Sierra Club and its 35,000 Rio Grande Chapter members and supporters in New Mexico and West Texas is to explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth; to practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources; to educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives.

The mission of Western Watersheds Project is to protect and restore western watersheds and wildlife through education, public policy initiatives, and legal advocacy.

WildEarth Guardians protects the wildlife and wild places in the American West, and protects the health of the public and our planet.

For immediate release: July 8, 2025

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.  

Erin Hunt, Lobos of the Southwest, 928-421-0187, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Jacqueline Covey, Defenders of Wildlife, 630-427-7164, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Mary Katherine Ray, Rio Grande 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. 

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

Nico Lorenzen, Wild Arizona, (520) 289-0147, 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. 

Letter Demands Release of Asha, Her Family

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Thirty-six conservation groups representing millions of  members and supporters from across the United States today sent a formal letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that requested the immediate release of Mexican gray wolf Asha, her mate, and their five puppies. The wolf family was slated to be released on the Ladder Ranch in June but has been subjected to unexplained delay. 

The Caldera Pack consists of a female, named Asha in an online youth wolf-naming contest, her mate Arcadia, and their five pups Kachina, Aspen, Sage, Kai and Aala. Asha was born in the wild and became an icon in 2023 after she twice crossed the Fish and Wildlife Service’s arbitrary northern boundary for Mexican wolf movements marked by Interstate 40.  She has been captured once before and released. She was captured again after her second infraction, and the Service paired her with the captive-born Arcadia, publicly stating they would be released after pups were born. 

The release was scheduled for June 23 but postponed supposedly due to logistics.  However, the livestock industry has been lobbying to halt wolf releases. The conservation groups are worried that the release is being stalled out for political reasons.  

“Delaying the release risks missing the critical window when Asha could teach her pups how to hunt native elk calves and give the pack the opportunity to localize on these private lands,” said Greta Anderson, deputy director of Western Watersheds Project. “The planned release was well-timed for optimum success, but better late than never. The government should move as quickly as possible to get these wolves on the ground this week.”

“Asha and her young family represent incredible promise for Mexican wolf recovery and Asha’s story has captured the nation - she deserves to be free,” said Chris Smith, wildlife program director for WildEarth Guardians. “The fact that she has been held captive for so long is wrong. She needs to be released now.”

“Asha’s release is much more than a promise made — it’s a critical piece of Mexican gray wolf restoration grounded in decades of science, responsibility and real community investment,” said Craig Miller, Defenders of Wildlife’s senior Southwest representative. “Her new family represents years of genetic planning, public engagement and the hard-won lessons of coexistence. Delaying or denying Asha’s and their release risks undermining the very recovery efforts the public, conservationists, and agencies have worked so hard to achieve.”

“That Asha, who wandered so far and so freely, should languish in captivity indefinitely, possibly for the rest of her life, is unbearable,” said Mary Katherine Ray, Wildlife Chair for the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club. “We are calling on the US Fish and Wildlife Service to keep its promise to free her and her family for the future of wolf genetic diversity, for the intent of the law, and for the decency that Asha deserves.”

“Asha’s story reminds us what’s at stake: not just a wolf, but a wild future. She dared to cross an invisible line on a map, and now she and her pups are paying the price," said Claire Musser, executive director, Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project. "This delay isn’t just a missed opportunity, it’s a betrayal of public trust and of Asha’s own wild instincts. If we are to restore wolves in a way that honors their agency and intelligence, we must act now and let this family live freely, as they were born to do.”

“Every wolf deserves to be wild,” said Regan Downey, director of education and advocacy at the Wolf Conservation Center. “The release of the Caldera Pack would signify a commitment to creating a world where Mexican gray wolves truly thrive. Let Asha continue to be a leader for her endangered species.”

Asha’s pups would materially improve the genetic health of the wild population, which becomes harder to diversify the larger the population grows on the landscape. That’s because the larger population anticipated in the future would require proportionately more releases to gain the same percentage of genes underrepresented in the wild which are available among captive wolves.  

“The livelihood and wellbeing of the Caldera Pack should be at the forefront of the need to release these wolves onto the landscape,” said Nico Lorenzen, Wild Arizona. “These wolves also represent a great opportunity to increase the genetic diversity, and therefore the long term health, of the Mexican gray wolf population. The longer it takes to introduce underrepresented genes from the captive population into the wild, the more difficult, costly and risky it will become, especially with an increasing wolf population. Releasing Asha, Arcadia and their pups promptly would indicate that the managing agencies take their commitment to saving these wolves, restoring our landscapes and using the best scientific principles for the public good seriously.”

“With the Caldera Pack release now apparently on hold and certainly delayed, we are troubled that wolf recovery may be being stymied for political reasons,” said Erin Hunt, managing director of Lobos of the Southwest. “Implementation of the Endangered Species Act is required by the statute to be based exclusively on the best science, not political influence.”

“It’s hard for me to think of any scientific reason why Asha and her genetically vital family haven’t been released yet, and I fear that’s because indefinitely delaying their release was a political decision,” said Michael Robinson, a senior conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Asha and her family deserve their freedom, their fellow Mexican wolves in the wild deserve their lifesaving genes and the American people deserve agencies that follow the science and the law, not the livestock industry’s lobbyists.”

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For Immediate Release, July 1, 2025

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.
Greta Anderson, Western Watersheds Project, (520) 623-1878, 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.
Erin Hunt, Lobos of the Southwest, (928) 421-0187, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Leia Barnett, WildEarth Guardians, (970) 406-2125, 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.
Sandy Bahr, Sierra Club - Grand Canyon Chapter, (602) 999-5790, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Nico Lorenzen, Wild Arizona, (520) 289-0147, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Michelle Lute, Wildlife for All, (505) 552-2501, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Bill Would Remove Federal Protections From Endangered Mexican Gray Wolves

TUCSON, Ariz.— U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) introduced legislation this week to remove the Mexican gray wolf from the endangered species list, which would effectively end recovery efforts for this unique, highly imperiled subspecies.

Removing Endangered Species Act protections from Mexican wolves would stop releases of wolves from captivity to diversify the gene pool of wild wolves, end federal investigations into possible wolf predation on livestock, reduce federal funding that supports compensation for livestock losses, shut down monitoring of the wolves and remove federal prohibitions on killing them.

“Bypassing the Endangered Species Act to strip all protections from beleaguered Mexican gray wolves and leave them vulnerable to Arizona’s shoot-on-sight laws would cause a massacre,” said Michael Robinson, senior conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The Southwest’s ecology would suffer, and we’d be left with a sadder, drabber landscape if Gosar and the livestock industry’s cruel vision for wolf extermination becomes law.”

Less than two and a half years after passage of the Endangered Species Act, the Mexican gray wolf was federally protected as endangered in April 1976. Seven of the last remaining Mexican wolves were captured and a breeding program kept the species from extinction. Wolves were reintroduced to Arizona and New Mexico in 1998, and in Mexico in 2011. Since then, their U.S. numbers have increased to 286 animals, but they remain imperiled due to dangerously low genetic diversity.

“Representative Gosar is recklessly out of touch with the science that supports carnivore recovery, and is simply pandering to the anti-wolf livestock industry’s desire to dominate public lands and control nature,” said Greta Anderson, deputy director of Western Watersheds Project. “Decisions under the Endangered Species Act are supposed to be based on science, not the whims of Congress.”

The Endangered Species Act requires animals and plants to be protected if they are in danger of extinction due to habitat destruction, killings, inadequate regulations or other natural or human threats. Gosar’s bill is an attempt to circumvent the legal, science-based management of Mexican wolves. Species can be removed from the list if they are no longer in danger of extinction. Mexican wolves are nowhere close to meeting the delisting threshold.

“The Wolf Conservation Center is one of many partners in the Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) Program for Mexican wolves, a captive breeding and release effort focused on recovering wild, genetically robust populations,” said Regan Downey, director of education and advocacy at the Wolf Conservation Center. “We’ve worked tirelessly for decades to support thriving populations of Mexican wolves and refuse to be undermined by politicians who prioritize private industry over endangered wildlife.”

There would be no legal or regulatory limits on wolf killings in Arizona if the Mexican wolf were to be removed from the federal endangered list. Wolf killing in New Mexico would likely also increase. With a relatively small population size, a constricted range, a limited gene pool and an absence of protective rules in Arizona, any congressional delisting of the Mexican gray wolf would likely result in unrecoverable losses.

“We cannot allow disinformation and myth to guide decision making when it comes to protecting our irreplaceable wildlife and wild places,” said Erin Hunt, managing director of Lobos of the Southwest. “The Endangered Species Act is a proven success. For the past three decades, 84% of people have consistently supported the Act and the protection it provides to species in peril, with no evidence of lower support among people living in rural areas. Mexican wolves would be extinct if it weren’t for Endangered Species Act protection. Despite the false claims of a few, there are many people living in wolf country who want to see lobos restored and thriving on the landscapes where they belong.”

Livestock owners have benefited from Endangered Species Act protection for Mexican wolves, too. They are reimbursed with federal funds when there has been conflict between livestock and wolves.

“Without strong protections from the Endangered Species Act, Mexican gray wolves will once again be at risk from being eliminated from Arizona. That is just not a risk we should be taking with these highly endangered wolves,” said Sandy Bahr, director of Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon chapter. “Rep. Gosar is once again demonstrating both his ignorance and his arrogance, as well as his total lack of concern for the creatures we share this Earth with, by pushing forward with this legislation.”

“Lobos have been an integral and irreplaceable part of the landscapes of the Southwest for millennia. They add a demonstrated ecological benefit, hold important cultural significance, and have captured the hearts and minds of New Mexicans and many others across the nation and the world,” said Leia Barnett, Greater Gila New Mexico advocate for WildEarth Guardians. “We cannot afford to entertain these ill-informed, industry-driven attacks on our bedrock environmental laws that protect these iconic species and their habitat.”

“I have seen that coexistence with wolves is possible when communities have access to practical, nonlethal tools and support. But this bill would strip away the protections that make that kind of progress achievable,” said Claire Musser, executive director of the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project. “It ignores science, disregards the fragile status of Mexican gray wolves, and risks unraveling decades of careful recovery work.”

“The Mexican gray wolf has lived on the landscape of the American Southwest and Mexico for millions of years, long before either nation-state came into existence. Lobos had robust populations and a preeminent role in maintaining ecosystems keeping them safe from disease and unmitigated herbivory,” said Nico Lorenzen of Wild Arizona. “Rep. Gosar paints the current state of wolf conservation in misleading nationalist broad strokes that ignore robust science and how much the majority of Americans value our wild heritage. His unwillingness to understand the complex facts on the ground in favor of particular interest groups is a shortsighted attempt to harm a species that is still very much in need of recovery.”

“This bill is a cynical ploy to appease special interests at the expense of the democratic process, public trust and the survival of one of North America’s most endangered mammals,” said Michelle Lute, Ph.D. in wolf conservation and executive director of Wildlife for All. “Stripping protections from Mexican gray wolves would empower local anti-wolf factions to increase their extermination efforts and make a mockery of the Endangered Species Act. Wildlife belong to all of us — not just the politicians and industries trying to sell our public lands and wildlife to the highest bidder. We need more democracy in wildlife management, not less.”

Since its passage in 1973, the Endangered Species Act has successfully prevented the extinction of more than 99% of the animals and plants placed on the endangered and threatened species lists.

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For Immediate Release June 25, 2025

Contacts:

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.

Erin Hunt, Lobos of the Southwest, 928-421-0187, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sandy Bahr, Sierra Club - Grand Canyon Chapter, 602-999-5790, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Nico Lorenzen, Wild Arizona, 520-289-0147, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Leia Barnett, WildEarth Guardians, 970-406-2125, 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. 

Mary Katherine Ray, Sierra Club - Rio Grande Chapter, 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. 

STUDENTS NAME MEXICAN GRAY WOLF PUPS SLATED FOR RELEASE

Entire Family of Wandering Wolf “Asha” To Be Freed Together in New Mexico

Albuquerque, NM – Mexican gray wolf puppies born in captivity at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge received names this week from student submissions via an online contest. The five puppies– Kachina, Aspen, Sage, Kai, and Aala– and their parents Asha and Arcadia are slated to be released in New Mexico. 

Asha made headlines in 2023 when she twice ventured north of Interstate 40, the official boundary beyond which Mexican wolves are banned. After her second capture near the Valles Caldera National Preserve, she was paired in captivity with a male named Arcadia, and officials pledged to release them after pups were born. Conservationists are calling the new family the Caldera Pack and hope that their release will add genetic diversity to the genetically imperiled wild population.

The students who named these pups explained the meanings behind their proposals. Kachina (Kweo Kachina) is the name of the Hopi wolf spirit. Aspen highlights that Mexican gray wolves and Aspen trees are both unique and at risk. Sage means wise to show wolves' intelligence and is also calming to show wolves aren't vicious. Kai means willow tree in the Diné language. Aala means “she who hunts and heals” because wolves do hunt but also heal their surroundings.

The names were drawn from ideas submitted by K-12 students from New Mexico, Arizona and elsewhere.

“Each Mexican gray wolf is a unique sentient being with hopes and dreams of their own,” said Erin Hunt, managing director of Lobos of the Southwest. “Students share their passion for wildlife conservation and their own hopes for the future of wild lobos by submitting name ideas that help people make a personal connection with these rare southwestern native wolves. Thank you to all the students who have helped honor Asha and Arcadia’s pups with names of their own.”

“We are excited that this wolf family will be back in the wild, where it belongs, and that the students are learning about and connecting with the lobos via these naming opportunities,” said Sandy Bahr, director of Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter. “We hope this pack thrives and endures and that Asha is now able to live out her days wild and free.”

“We are thrilled to see new pups join the Caldera pack and await their release back to the wild. We humbly hope that these new wolves can live on the landscape without the disruptions their parents have experienced.” said Nico Lorenzen, conservation and wildlife associate at Wild Arizona. “Thank you to the members of our community that proposed and voted on these names, let them reflect the will of the community to revitalize our wild spaces. The onus is now on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to assure that this genetically critical pack is released and is safe from harm.”

“We’re sending congratulatory howls to Asha and Arcadia on the birth of their five pups – what an exciting development for their family and their endangered species! Wolves are essential members of healthy ecosystems and the Caldera Pack will positively impact not just their home, but the millions of Americans who find joy in knowing wolves roam wild landscapes,” said Regan Downey, director of education and advocacy at the Wolf Conservation Center.

“The names Kachina, Aspen, Sage, Kai, and Aala reflect more than creativity, they carry meaning, memory, and hope. These pups aren’t just numbers in a recovery plan, they are individuals, each with a future that matters,” said Claire Musser, executive director of the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project. “Asha’s story is one of resilience and longing, and her family reminds us that wolves are not just symbols of the wild, but active participants in their own recovery, rewilding the landscape because they choose to. Let’s honor them by making space to live, roam, and thrive.”

“Asha amazed and enchanted the world with her travels across historic wolf country never preying on livestock or alarming humans,” said Mary Katherine Ray, Wildlife Chair for the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club. “At last Asha has the family she was looking for. We are thrilled with the prospect that all of them will be free and that wild nature will be a little more complete with her, her mate, and their pups in it.”

“These pups can infuse badly needed and under-represented genes into the wild Mexican wolf population once they’re released with their parents, grow up and find mates,” said Michael Robinson, a senior conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Congratulations to their mom, Asha, and dad, Arcadia. I’m hoping there are many tail-wagging trails ahead for pups Kachina, Aspen, Sage, Kai and Aala.” 

“Asha has become a mascot for freedom and wildness for so many across the southwest and the nation. We hope her new pups have inherited her wild spirit and that they are all allowed to roam wherever their wolfy hearts desire,” said Leia Barnett, Greater Gila New Mexico Advocate for WildEarth Guardians. “The release of this bonded family pack, alongside the removal of the I-40 boundary, would be meaningful steps towards the recovery of lobos.” 

Background

The Mexican gray wolf is the southernmost, most genetically distinct, and most imperiled gray wolf subspecies in North America. After the U.S. government trapped and poisoned the Mexican wolf from the United States and Mexico on behalf of the livestock industry, passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973 led to science-based captive breeding of seven survivors. In 1998, Mexican wolves were reintroduced to Arizona and New Mexico. 

Currently, at least 286 Mexican gray wolves survive in the wild in the United States and fewer than 20 in Mexico, where reintroduction began in 2011. Despite increasing numbers, government live removals and killings of genetically valuable wolves and inadequate releases of captive-born wolves have contributed to a dangerous reduction in the genetic diversity of the wild population since reintroduction began. The captive population retains somewhat more genetic diversity that scientists maintain must be shared with the wild population for successful recovery.

Learn more at www.mexicanwolves.org. 

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For Immediate Release June 3, 2025

MEDIA CONTACTS

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

Leia Barnett, Greater Gila NM Advocate, WildEarth Guardians, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 970-406-2125

Erin Hunt, Managing Director, Lobos of the Southwest,

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 928-421-0187

Conservationists celebrate lobo pup fostering successes but sound the alarm about genetic crisis and lack of wolf family releases

Phoenix, AZ – Advocates are wishing the best for the 17 endangered Mexican gray wolf pups fostered into wild dens this Spring, but they are raising alarms about the ongoing genetic crisis and management policies that hinder the recovery of this rare southwestern native wolf.

“Mexican gray wolves are social, sentient beings and should be treated as active agents in their own recovery,” said Claire Musser, executive director of the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project. “The I-40 boundary is an unscientific roadblock that limits their ability to disperse, form new packs, and restore genetic diversity. Recovery requires freedom to roam where habitat allows—not where politics restricts.”

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. 

"We celebrate the new lobo pups in the wild, but a genetic crisis still looms. Our wild population of Mexican gray wolves are still as genetically related as siblings", said Leia Barnett, Greater Gila Advocate for WildEarth Guardians. "The solution lies in resuming the release of well-bonded family packs as soon as possible while the population is still small enough to make a meaningful difference."

“We have heard concerns raised by some ranchers in the southwest that Mexican wolves are artificially concentrated in certain areas, perhaps as a result of the overreliance on fostering pups into locations that already have high wolf density” said Erin Hunt, managing director of Lobos of the Southwest. “A natural solution to uneven distribution of the wolf population would be to remove the artificial I-40 boundary and allow natural dispersal in suitable habitat outside of the current recovery area. Releasing well-bonded family groups of wolves in new locations, including the excellent habitat in the Grand Canyon ecoregion, northern New Mexico, and southern Rockies, would allow for a more natural distribution of wolves across the landscape. This would also improve genetics by immediately adding breeding individuals and their pups into the population.” 

The genetic recovery goals as outlined in the 2022 Mexican Wolf Recovery Plan are insufficient to ensure the long-term conservation of Mexican gray wolves. They simply require 22 wolves from the Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) captive breeding program to reach breeding age in the wild. But this does not mean that those wolves have actually passed on their genes by raising families of their own. A better measure of improvement to gene diversity would be a requirement that fostered wolves not only survive to breeding age but actually have pups of their own. 

Advocates are celebrating the collaborative foster efforts of the Mexican Wolf SAFE program, nonprofits like LightHawk Conservation, and biologists and technicians working on the ground and urging more action from leadership at state and federal agencies responsible for recovering the Mexican wolf.

Agencies must act now to resume 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. 

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 286 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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