Arizona Daily Sun (Original) Letter to the Editor Posted on August 17, 2014 by Toni Prothero
To the editor:
I was glad to see coverage in the Daily Sun of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's proposed rule changes for the Mexican gray wolf reintroduction program. I was also heartened to hear that the USFWS recognizes the need for an expansion of the Mexican wolf range north of I-40 and the admittance that the proposed expansion is inadequate to their recovery.
I ask, then, why the Service is delaying the expansion of their range north of I-40 into suitable habitat, where there are few people and great numbers of elk and deer, and given the grave state of the population now and the precariousness of its survival? I am glad to hear that the Service is planning to get immediately back to work on updating the recovery plan. I am concerned, however, that the Service appears to be delaying the expansion of wolf range to the north till such a time that the plan is completed.
We have been waiting for this plan for decades and we can't wait any longer. The future and survival of the Mexican wolf is at stake. The USFWS needs to step up and do its job of protecting and conserving our native wildlife and landscapes. For the Mexican wolf, the time to do so is now, not at some future, unspecified time.
Toni Prothero
Flagstaff
