The Mexican gray wolf has a better chance of survival after a federal district court judge ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to produce a draft recovery plan to keep the animal from becoming extinct.
“More than 70% of documented Mexican wolf mortalities are human-caused,” Elizabeth Forsyth, an Earthjustice attorney for the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “We’re glad that the court has recognized that for the Mexican wolf to survive, the Fish and Wildlife Service must put in place a robust plan that includes concrete actions to address the threat of illegal killing.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has six months to develop a site-specific plan of action to reduce the number of wolves being killed illegally, the order says. The plan will be released for public consumption and input for six months before being finalized.
“Mexican wolves are a keystone species, vital to keeping our lands healthy, which is why we need to reduce any losses for this recovering population,” Regina Mossotti, director of Animal Care and Conservation at the Endangered Wolf Center, said in a statement. “We appreciate the Service’s commitment to saving the Mexican wolf and hope this ruling will help them focus on identifying new and innovative ways to protect this critically endangered wolf.”
The lawsuit stems from a 2017 revised recovery plan for the Mexican gray wolf that multiple environmental groups say the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated a section of the Endangered Species Act by not including site-specific management actions, and not including objective, measurable criteria for delisting the Mexican gray wolf.
The courts considered the parties' briefs and administrative records and granted, in part, the Center for Biological Diversity’s motion for summary judgment, denied WildEarth Guardians’ motion for summary judgment, and denied, in part, the defendants’ cross-motions for summary judgment.
The Mexican gray wolf moved through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico before the 1900s. By the 1970s, it was nearly extinct in the U.S. and Mexico. In 1976, it was listed as endangered and by 1982, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had created a recovery plan. But a 2018 lawsuit was filed arguing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated a section of the Endangered Species Act by not including site-specific management actions to protect the Mexican gray wolf.
One of the six plaintiffs, the Center for Biological Diversity, has a history of suing the Fish and Wildlife Service over its management of the Mexican gray wolf, according to the New Mexico Political Report.
