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Canis lupis baileyi

Struggling, but making a comeback in Arizona

The Mexican gray wolves in Arizona and New Mexico continue to struggle with re-establishing themselves in a portion of their former range. There are many reasons to be hopeful, however that soon there will be a sustainable population of these wolves in the southwest.

The Mexican Gray wolf is the smallest and southern most of the subspecies of the gray wolf, and also one of the most rare. These wolves once roamed the mountains of southeastern Arizona, central Mexico, southern New Mexico, and even portions of southwestern Texas, but predator removal efforts for the livestock industry extirpated them from the wild. It was listed as endangered in 1976. After years of meeting, planning, captive breeding, pushing, advocating, plus much more, 11 wolves were released into the Blue Range Recovery Area in March of 1998. A total of 14 packs have been introduced to date.

The single greatest threat to these wolves is human inflexibility and intolerance. Since the reintroduction and recovery effort began, nine wolves have been shot, vehicles have hit three, and five have died from disease. Many of the wolves have been recaptured and relocated or recaptured and put back into captivity when they wandered from the recovery area, stayed near humans, or developed a taste for beef. (When wolves do take livestock, the owners of the livestock are compensated by Defenders of Wildlife's compensation fund.) Recently the entire Pipestem pack -- a pack with pups -- was recaptured after preying on livestock.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the conviction of those responsible for the shooting deaths of three of these wolves last fall. The agency is also continuing to investigate the illegal killing of four other wolves. Killing a Mexican gray wolf is a violation of the Federal Endangered Species Act and Arizona law. Anyone with information that might be helpful in this matter should contact U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agents in Mesa, AZ at (480) 835-8289 or Pinetop at (928) 367-5689; the White Mountain Apache Tribe at (928) 338-1023 or (928) 338-4385; or Arizona Game and Fish Operation Game Thief at 1-800-352-0700.

While the shootings and the frequent recapturing of wolves is disturbing, there is much good news for the wolves. Recently, the White Mountain Apache Tribe decided to allow up to six Mexican gray wolf packs on the 1.5 million acres of reservation land. This gives the wolves the one thing they need most, more space, and especially more space where their interaction with humans and livestock will be limited.

Despite being captive bred, the wolves have demonstrated that they can adapt to their life in the wild if given a chance. They can and will establish territories, form packs, hunt wild prey, mate and bear young, and do all the things that wild wolves should do. Currently, several of the females are believed to be denning, but as of deadline it was still early to confirm whether there were pups and how many. These wolves usually have between 4 and 6 pups sometime between mid-April and mid-May. Fifteen pups have been born in the wild to date, not counting this year.

When there are more wolf pups that make it to yearling status and beyond and there are wild-born wolves that begin bearing their own young in the wild, then we will know that the Mexican gray wolf is really recovering and that we are headed to a time when this large predator resumes its natural role in mountains of eastern Arizona and New Mexico.

TAKE ACTION

Please take a moment to write and thank the White Mountain Apache Tribe for their support of wolf recovery. Direct your letters to: Dallas Massey, Sr., Chairman, White Mountain Apache Tribe, PO BOX 1150, Whiteriver, Arizona 85941, Fax (928) 338-1514.

Help Arizona's Wolves and Arizona's Wolf Helpers!

There are many ways to assist with the Mexican gray wolf recovery in Arizona -- advocating for wolves with elected officials and agencies, promoting appropriate management, and informing the public about wolves and other predators and the critical role they play in healthy functioning ecosystems. Here is one more way you can help. It is enjoyable, educational, and helps the folks who are helping the wolves.

On Saturday September 7^th and Sunday September 8^th, we will be heading to eastern Arizona for a Mexican gray wolf service trip and field trip. The plan is to drive up to Hannagan Meadow Friday evening and either camp or stay at the lodge. Saturday morning we will help wildlife officials with disassembling an old acclimation pen and/or other work with which they need assistance. Saturday afternoon, we will head back to Hannagan Meadow for a discussion of the wolf program along with opportunities for plenty of questions and answers. Sunday morning we will do a short easy hike in the wolf recovery area. Chances are we will not see or hear wolves on this trip -- and that's a good thing for the wolves -- but it is likely we will see other wildlife and have a nice hike. This hike will definitely be a "D" hike. As always with all Sierra Club outings, no pets are allowed. For more information or to sign up for this service trip, please contact Sandy Bahr at (602) 253-8633 or grand.canyon.chapter@sierraclub.org.

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