By Associated Press
RESERVE, N.M. (AP) – Lawyers for the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish are seeking to stop federal wildlife managers from releasing more endangered Mexican gray wolves into the wild.
In a court filing Thursday, they asked for a temporary restraining order that would require the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to get state permission before releasing wildlife – including wolves – in New Mexico.
The wolf recovery program spans parts of New Mexico and Arizona.
The move comes after the federal agency released a pair of captive-born pups into a wild wolf den in southwestern New Mexico last month.
The state had previously threatened to sue over the federal agency’s insistence that it continue with its wolf recovery program despite opposition over releases in New Mexico and the lack of an updated recovery plan.