Sportsmen, Business Owners, Scientists, Conservationists, concerned Citizens unite for Commission meeting

Las Cruces, N.M. -- A diverse group of stakeholders has gathered to voice its support for Mexican wolf (lobo) recovery during a special two hour public comment period on the lobo hosted by the New Mexico Game Commission. The Commission is looking for comments on the goals and management of the program, challenges to achieving a sustainable wolf population, economic effects, compensation for livestock losses, human safety concerns, and impacts to wildlife-associated recreation, among other topics.

The group is eager to work with the Commission and others to reevaluate the wolf recovery program in order to better achieve recovery objectives. Only about 55 lobos currently live in the Southwest, when the stated recovery goal was to have over 100 wolves in the wild by now. An equally important measure is the number of breeding pairs—eighteen pairs were expected by now but only five are known to exist. While in the case of Mexican wolf reintroduction, the Endangered Species Act allows some flexibility in managing wolves to address human/wolf conflicts, the Act also requires the achievement of recovery objectives.

"The wolves are doing their part. They are establishing packs, territories, and are reproducing in the wild. But management practices to date have addressed conflicts primarily by removing or killing wolves at levels that preclude the achievement of recovery objectives. Every wolf killed is another setback for the recovery of Mexican wolves in the Southwest," said Dave Parsons, former head of the Mexican wolf recovery program for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "It's time for more creative solutions that keep more wolves alive and in the wild."

The actual number of cattle lost to wolves is so small that the National Agricultural Statistics Service doesn't even list wolves as their own category, grouping them instead under "Other Predators." This category was only responsible for 0.65 percent of total cattle loss in New Mexico and 0.21 percent in Arizona in 2005. More than 40 times more cattle are lost to respiratory problems in the Southwest than to "Other Predators."

A 2006 peer-reviewed study of wolf diets in the wild in the first three years of reintroduction, conducted through scat analysis, revealed that 88.6 percent of their food consisted of elk and deer, 5.3 percent smaller mammals, and only 4.2 percent cattle. Unknown is the proportion of those cattle killed by wolves and those merely scavenged.

"Although the number of cattle lost to wolves overall is small, we wanted to take the economic burden off the shoulders of ranchers. Defenders of Wildlife offers compensation to ranchers in the Southwest for livestock lost to wolves, paying full market value for confirmed wolf kills," said Craig Miller with Defenders of Wildlife.

Mexican wolves could be a huge economic benefit to local communities. A study of the Yellowstone region by University of Montana economist Dr. John Duffield has found that wild wolves bring in over $35 million dollars every year to the local economy. As those dollars turn over in the economy, they double to $70 million. Financial benefits are beginning to emerge in the Southwest as well. Tourists are already hiring guides and outfitters to go out into the Gila National Forest to try and catch a glimpse of a lobo in the wild.

"Biologist Cynthia Wolf and I led two outfitted wildlife watching trips in occupied Mexican wolf territory last fall. Participants came from as far away as St. Louis just for a chance to see a wild wolf, hear a howl, or observe wolf tracks," said Jean Ossorio, a board member of the Las Cruces based Southwest Environmental Center. "Future benefits from ecotourism to communities in the recovery area depend on a thriving wolf population and on more outreach outside the recovery area by agencies and local businesses. Right now lobos are the best kept secret in the wildlife tourism world."

According to a 2002 study about wolf conflicts with humans, there is not one documented case of a healthy, wild wolf killing a human in the United States. By comparison, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate between 10 to 20 people are killed and 4.7 million people are attacked each year by domestic dogs. Furthermore, there is not a single case of a wild Mexican wolf attacking a person in the Southwest.

"I live in the heart of wolf country, but I'm not scared by them in the least. I've been living with lions, bears, snakes and other wildlife for years with no problem. And my guest ranch business is doing just fine since the wolves got here. My guests actually get excited about the chance to see a wolf," said Caren Wiltbank, owner of Beaver Creek Guest Ranch. "Being in the wild is one of the reasons I choose to live out here. Every place has its dangers, even the city. You just have to know where you are, be smart and a little careful."

Nature benefits greatly from the wolf's presence. Wolves cause their prey to be wary and avoid open meadows and valley bottoms, which helps vegetation in riparian areas to regenerate and improves stream health for fish. Wolves prefer to feed on animals like elk and deer, and will naturally go after the weak and sick animals first—not the large, healthy animals that hunters prefer. This natural culling is good for the overall health of elk and deer herds.

"The Gila is known as one of the best elk hunting areas in the country, and it still is even after almost ten years of wolf reintroduction. In fact, the New Mexico Game and Fish Department's own numbers show elk numbers are rising in the Gila. Southwest Consolidated Sportsmen supports science-based wolf recovery. For far too long, politics has gotten in the way of wolf recovery, and that needs to stop," said Sandy Schemnitz, retired NMSU wildlife professor and president of Southwest Consolidated Sportsmen.

"The members of the Dona Ana County Associated Sportsmen, Inc. support the reintroduction of endangered species into their native habitat, where viable and practical, including the Mexican wolf," said Tony Popp, president of DACAS. "We particularly support those programs that are based on scientific management realizing that there may be some political and socioeconomic constraints. Modifications of the existing program should first and foremost be based on the best science available. Then procedures to minimize the political and socio economic constraints should be put in place. Only then will a reintroduction program be successful."

Mexican wolves were first listed as an endangered species in 1976, after decades of human conflict extirpated them from their native habitat in the southwestern United States. Beginning in 1998 and continuing through 2006, 91 captive-bred wolves have been released into the wild as part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's plan to recover the Mexican wolf population in the Southwest.

The Mexican wolf is an ecologically important member of the native fauna of the Southwest. The return of the lobo to our enchanted wildlands is strongly supported by New Mexicans. We will continue to work together to secure a safe haven for this magnificent creature in its native homeland.

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Beaver Creek Guest Ranch • Center for Biological Diversity • Defenders of Wildlife • Dona Ana County Associated Sportsmen, Inc. • Forest Guardians • New Mexico Wilderness Alliance • Southwest Consolidated Sportsmen • Southwest Environmental Center • The Rewilding Institute • Wild By Nature Wildlife Tours