The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to give up on red wolves and shut down the wolf's recovery program in the wild — and shockingly there are indications FWS may take the proposal seriously!
These critically endangered cousins of the gray wolf were nearly exterminated, until a reintroduction program was launched in 1987. Today, roughly 100 of these animals survive in a small patch of eastern North Carolina scrub forest.
Federal officials expect to make a decision by sometime in March!
So it's critical that you act now and tell FWS to stand up for red wolves and continue recovery efforts — please act today!
Don't abandon red wolf recovery
Dear Director Ashe,
As a supporter of Defenders of Wildlife and someone who cares deeply about wolves, I'm writing today urging you to stay the course and continue red wolf recovery efforts in North Carolina.
Recently, Defenders and its allies were able to secure an injunction halting coyote hunting at night in the designated Red Wolf Recovery Area; however, this is only one of the factors necessary to ensuring the recovery and survival of red wolves.
The red wolf once ranged throughout the eastern and south central United States. However, intensive predator control programs and the degradation and alteration of the species' habitat had greatly reduced its numbers by the early 20th century. Designated as an endangered species in 1967, the red wolf was declared extinct in the wild in 1980. In 1987, an experimental population of red wolves was reintroduced into eastern North Carolina.
Today, roughly 100 wild red wolves remain in North Carolina - the only place they exist in the wild. Red wolf recovery efforts must not only be maintained, but also expanded in order to boost the pace of its recovery in the wild.
It is vital that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service continue to stand behind and fully fund the Red Wolf Recovery Program; we can't allow these wolves to be exterminated once again from their native lands.
[Your comments here]
I'm urging you to stand strong and not abandon the recovery efforts that are vital to the existence of this species.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
