SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – The state Game Commission has decided its wants New Mexico to have a seat at the table when it comes to making decisions about the federal government’s efforts to reintroduce Mexican gray wolves to the American Southwest.
The commission voted this week to direct the state Game and Fish Department to sign to a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as the federal agency drafts an environmental impact statement for the troubled wolf program.
The vote comes two years after the Game and Fish Department officially pulled out of the program.
State Game and Fish Director Jim Lane contends the federal agency doesn’t have a viable recovery plan and the planning process lacks defined objectives for wolf recovery.
There are at least 75 Mexican gray wolves in the wild in New Mexico and Arizona.