Mexican
gray wolves face a
challenging recovery.

Wilderness Protection Campaigns

Protect Mexican gray wolves

Mexican gray wolves became a tragic player in the "taming of the west" when habitat loss and eradication efforts to protect livestock eliminated wolves from their natural territories by 1970. In 1998, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) reintroduced this iconic species into special wolf management zones. The reintroduction has been fraught as ranchers fear predation and conservationists see the reintroduction as vital to re-establishing a truly natural habitat. While there are mitigation efforts to reduce the loss of cattle, emotions run high. The wolves’ fate remains in doubt due to an array of threats, including illegal killings by humans, low genetic diversity, and USFWS regulations that too often reflect politics instead of facts, science, and law. New Mexico Wild is at the forefront of protecting our small wolf population and keeping remote areas of the state wild enough for them to thrive.

Fortunately, there has been some good news recently. The most recent population count documented 241 animals in the wild, marking a 22% increase over the previous year and the seventh consecutive year of population growth. Additionally, New Mexico Wild and partner organizations, represented by the Western Environmental Law Center, have filed lawsuits in federal court aimed at forcing the USFWS to use the best available science and follow the law when updating the Mexican wolf management rule and Mexican wolf recovery plan. In both cases, a federal judge determined that the USFWS violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to adequately protect wolves and by failing to further the conservation and survival of the species. The federal court ordered the USFWS to revise both the management rule and the recovery plan.

On October 4, 2022, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released the final revised recovery plan for the Mexican wolf, which includes new site-specific management actions to address the threat of human-caused mortality, including illegal killing. The revisions address the part of the plan remanded by the court and do not include any changes to the recovery strategy or criteria.

New Mexico Wild continues to take action to ensure that the USFWS follows the court's orders and upholds the responsibility to protect and recover Mexican wolves. Because, as we all know, Wolves Belong!

Please sign the petition urging the Biden Administration to protect Mexican Gray Wolves here.

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Wilderness and Wild and Scenic designations are paramount in order to protect the Mexican gray wolf from illegal killings

There are 241 Mexican gray wolves known to survive in the wilds of southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona. If we want to protect New Mexico’s wild heritage, we must act now to protect the Mexican gray wolf. That’s why New Mexico Wild remains committed to advocating for the conservation of the wild places that Mexican gray wolves call home.

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