Grey Wolf Release in Arizona
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to release four packs of Mexican gray wolves in New Mexico and Arizona this year to increase genetic diversity of the species in the wild.
Biologist Dan Stark says it will likely be the last large release effort because of the success of the project.
The wolves, which once roamed in a broad region from Mexico to the Southwest United States, have largely vanished from the region.
In 1998, the wolf was reintroduced into eastern Arizona after nearly 30 years’ absence from the wild. People on both sides of the issue met in Las Cruces, New Mexico, over the weekend.
Speakers at the forum advocated allowing wolves to naturally establish territory outside their designated recovery area.