NM Game Commission endorses wolf program
SILVER CITY, N.M. (AP) The state Game Commission has unanimously endorsed the Mexican gray wolf reintroduction program.
While considering an agreement formally boosting New Mexicos involvement in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife program Wednesday, the commission went a step further and expressed its full support for the program.
The commission is pro-wolf, Commissioner Jennifer Montoya of Las Cruces said during the commissions meeting here.
Commission Chairman Guy Riordan said Gov. Bill Richardson supports the program.
The 6-0 vote is a 180-degree switch from the mid-1990s, when a prior Game Commission and then-Republican Gov. Gary Johnson opposed the reintroduction program
The commission also approved the power-sharing agreement with the federal agency to help with the program that has brought an estimated 50 to 60 wolves into parts of New Mexico and Arizona.
We could have just signed the (agreement), Montoya said. That just brings us to the table. We need to do what we can to help the program become successful.
Commissioner David Henderson of Santa Fe said the state has been a less-than-enthusiastic partner in wolf reintroduction. I hope by signing this (agreement), we change that perception.
The wording of the commissions decision also urges the Fish and Wildlife Service to consider recommendations a group of scientists made in 2001.
The scientists recommended that the wolves be allowed to roam beyond the governments recovery-area boundaries, that direct releases of wolves be allowed in the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico and that ranchers be responsible for removing livestock carcasses so wolves cant feed on them.
Under current Fish and Wildlife Service rules, wolves that travel beyond recover-area boundaries can be trapped even if they are causing no trouble. Only wolves that were previously released in Arizona and retrapped for various reasons are released into New Mexico.
People who traveled to Silver City to speak against the reintroduction program were surprised with the commissions vote.
They took a big, big, huge leap, above and beyond what we were expecting, said Joel A. Alderete, a regional director with the New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau.
Signing the memorandum of understanding with the Fish and Wildlife Service will open up the state game agency to wolf-related lawsuits, he said.
Were already dealing with mountain lions and bears and coyotes, Alderete said, adding that bringing another predator to the table does not benefit (stockmen) financially.
Michael Robinson, a representative of the Center for Biological Diversity, said he was delighted and surprised with the commissions broad statement.
We hope the Fish and Wildlife Service hears the message loud and clear, he said.