Feds consider giving Mexican gray wolf extra protection
By Tim Steller, Arizona Daily Star
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today it will consider giving stronger protection to the Mexican gray wolf by classifying it as an endangered subspecies in its own right.
At present, the Mexican gray wolf is classified as endangered but only as a member of the greater gray wolf species, which has other populations around the United States.
A re-classification would insulate the Mexican gray wolf from any decisions made about other populations of gray wolves in the United States, the service said today.
The Fish and Wildlife Service re-introduced Mexican gray wolves in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona in 1998, but this “experimental, non-essential” population has not thrived.
In part, that’s because people have been shooting wolves. Two alpha males in the population have been found shot do death this year and another is missing, in incidents the service’s criminal investigators are probing.
The possible re-classification of the Mexican gray wolf would not necessarily end the “experimental, non-essential” nature of the re-introduced wolves, the service said.
However, if the subspecies is listed separately as endangered, that would prompt the service to write a new recovery plan for the Mexican gray wolf, said Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity, which has petitioned the service to re-classify the wolf. That’s because the service would be obliged to write a new recovery plan for the subspecies, and the plan could lead to changes in the rules governing that population.
Public comments are being accepted until Oct. 4. There are two ways to make a comment:
• Go to www.regulations.gov, search for docket FWS-R2-ES-2010-0045, then follow the instructions for submitting comments.
• Write mail to Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R2-ES-2010-0045; Divison of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 222; Arlington, VA 22203.
All comments will be posted on the www.regulations.gov website.