Help Prevent the Extinction of Mexican Gray Wolves!

Mexican gray wolves are facing one of the most preventable extinctions in U.S. history.

The Mexican gray wolf, or lobo, has been hanging by a thread for decades. Roughly 109 animals roam the wild of Arizona and New Mexico in a tiny fraction of what was once their home.

But after more than two decades of foot-dragging and bureaucratic red tape, the lobo is still in serious danger. And now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is ready to abandon the development of a science-based recovery plan and let the states of New Mexico and Arizona—both brimming with anti-wolf politicians—call the shots going forward!

The Arizona Game and Fish Commission has been bullying U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for years—limiting wolf releases and even calling for the Mexican gray wolf to lose all federal protection. If FWS allows the states to take over, the future of these wolves would be placed in the hands of extreme anti-wolf politicians, in states that had a hand in the near extinction of Mexican gray wolves in the first place!

This is a dangerous case of politics over science and back-room deals.

Tell the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service enough is enough! Don't let the states hijack wolf recovery.
Dear Director Ashe, 
Mexican gray wolves are critically imperiled and desperately need a legally compliant recovery plan, but they don't need a recovery planning process corrupted by politics. The Service's plan to convene "states-only" recovery workshops does not bode well for a final plan that will actually lead to recovery of the Mexican gray wolf.

It is no secret that both Arizona and New Mexico have game commissions that do not want to see science-based wolf recovery move forward. The Arizona Game and Fish Commission (which limits wolf releases) has even called for the Mexican gray wolf to lose all federal protection. The New Mexico Game and Fish Commission has recently made a statement about their animosity toward wolf recovery by denying the permit for a holding facility at Ladder Ranch which is used for captive wolves waiting to be released into the wild. The Service's track record for following through on their statutory duty to recover Mexican gray wolves in the face of state opposition has been disappointing. For example, the Service promised to keep wolves south of I-40 despite their needing habitats north of there for recovery and allowed the states to dictate last minute changes to the final rule that are also contradictory to the best science, including the cap of 325 wolves.

Recovery criteria should be based on science, not politics, and should not be developed during back-room closed sessions limited to state agencies led by anti-wolf commissions. I ask that you abandon this one-sided political approach, reconvene the existing recovery team, listen to the scientists and hold workshops that are more transparent, inclusive of other stakeholders and based on science.

Sincerely, 
[your name]
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