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Dear Guardian,
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently accepting public comments on a new Mexican wolf management rule. In 2015, Guardians sued the Service over their hugely problematic Mexican wolf (“lobo”) management rule and won: a federal judge found that the rule “fails to further the conservation of the Mexican wolf.” The Service was told to go back to the drawing board and fix it.
Our victory means that you now get to weigh-in on the new rule, which will help determine the fate of endangered lobos. Just this year, at least 14 Mexican wolves have been killed—including at least five at the hands of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We need your unique voice now. Without a strong rule, lobos may be doomed to extinction.
Comments on the scoping period for a new management rule are being accepted now and we’ve made it easy for you to participate: Simply go to this webpage and submit your comments.
Here are some talking points for you to build on, but submitting comments in your own voice is important:
Release more wolves into the wild
- The maximum feasible number of well-bonded Mexican wolf pairs with pups should be released into the wild.
- Removal of wild wolves should be severely limited.
No limit to the number of lobos in the wild
- Wolves should not be removed from the wild because of predation on wildlife.
- Wolves should never to be killed except in cases of imminent threat to human health or safety.
- A very high bar should be required for the removal of wolves for preying on livestock.
- Wolves should not be removed from the wild for breaching any geographic boundary.
Protect lobos from poaching
- Livestock grazing permittees found guilty of illegally killing or injuring a lobo should forfeit their permit.
- Only scientists doing research and professionals involved in official wolf management should have access to tracking devices or real-time GPS information.
- Every wild wolf that is unlawfully killed should be replaced by the release of a captive-born wolf within a year.
Reduce wolf-livestock conflict
- The wild U.S. population of Mexican wolves should be designated as “essential,” meaning that federal agencies must evaluate what impacts their actions have on wolf recovery.
- Managing agencies should proactively engage and educate stakeholders regarding wolf behavior, ecology, and coexistence tactics.
- Public land grazing permittees with knowledge that wolves are on nearby public land must ensure the presence of a person equipped to chase and harass wolves to deter livestock depredation.
- Public land grazing permittees must remove or render inedible carcasses that were not killed by wolves.
- All instances of wolves feeding on livestock, along with corresponding necropsies, should be documented.
Please note: If you encounter technical issues submitting your comments, please contact the regulations.gov support team for assistance.
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