by Trudy Balcom, White Mountain Independent
A court settlement involving Arizona and the U.S. Department of the Interior over future planning for the recovery of the Mexican gray wolf will likely impact the communities of eastern and central Arizona.
The Mexican gray wolf was first listed as a federally endangered subspecies in 1976, after their numbers had dwindled to seven.
Wolves bred in captivity were first released into the wild in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico in 1998.
Recently, U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer Zipps approved a motion for an agreement that requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to complete an updated recovery plan for the wolves. The existing plan for the animals dates back to 1982.
The push for the completion of the recovery plan created some unlikely allies. The Defenders of Wildlife and The Center for Biological Diversity along with several other environmental groups, sued the federal government in 2014 to force the agency to create a management plan before their numbers were further reduced.
The state of Arizona also sued in 2015 — also to force the creation of a management plan — but its reasons were quite different.
“We filed this lawsuit because the federal government failed to do its part in providing an updated Mexican wolf recovery plan, one that includes real-world guidelines for measuring success,” Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said in an email message to The Independent on Friday.
“Our office had a responsibility to ensure that Arizonans had a seat at the negotiating table.
“With this settlement, we will have input in shaping an updated Mexican wolf recovery plan. Arizonans know what is best for our state and its wildlife, and our voices should not be drowned out by special interest groups and the federal government,” he explained.
Three different efforts to update the recovery plan since 1982 have been unsuccessful.
Opponents of the wolves have held several meetings over the last few years, and have pleaded with the USFWS to de-list them as an endangered subspecies.
Ranchers in Apache and Greenlee counties generally have opposed reintroduction of the wolves, which had been routinely hunted and trapped before their reintroduction.
Some of Arizona’s congressional delegation has recently sounded off on the subject. Sen. Jeff Flake, during a conversation with area officials, told them he would make an effort to de-list the wolves and turn their fate over to the states. Rep. Raul Grijalva — who represents a portion of southern Arizona — has said the federal agency should retain control of the recovery plan.
Paul Greer, Mexican Wolf Interagency Field Team leader for the Arizona Game and Fish Department said recently that biologists working out of his Pinetop office are involved in managing the wolves on the ground, in cooperation with other project partners including the White Mountain Apache Tribe, USDA Forest Service and USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service – Wildlife Services.
Greer said that about 97 wolves live in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests and the Gila National Forest in New Mexico and surrounding areas. “There’s an interchange of populations across the border,” he said.
The Mexican Wolf Interagency Field Team monitors wolves in the wild. Greer said that they also work to reduce wolf depredations on livestock in conjunction with area ranchers.
Part of that work includes capturing and collaring wolves. He said currently 47 wolves have functioning collars.
The Interagency Field Team will be conducting its annual count of wolf populations starting next month. The wolf census will continue through February, and population numbers will be released some time next spring.
Greer said he believes the federal government will meet the Nov. 30 deadline for a new plan, even though the federal government has failed to complete a recovery plan for the Mexican wolf in the past.
“We have been cooperating with the development of the plan, we expect they will complete it on time,” he said.
“It’s difficult to run a recovery program without a recovery plan,” he added.