The New Mexico Game Commission on Tuesday denied a permit to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to release the endangered Mexican gray wolf into the wild in New Mexico, where there are only 53 of the species.
"We are extremely dismayed that the Game Commission has taken it upon itself to obstruct wolf recovery by denying the US Fish and Wildlife Service permission to release wolves into the wild in New Mexico,” said Mary Katherine Ray, wildlife chair of the Rio Grande Sierra Club chapter. "Lobos are in dire need of greater genetic diversity in the wild population, which would be bolstered by more releases. Without those releases, their existence is once more cast into doubt.”
“The decision reflects a troubling interference in the mandate to recover wolves not only under the federal Endangered Species Act but also under the state Wildlife Conservation Act,” Ray said.
She added, "This decision comes on the heels of the vote to allow cougar trapping and expand bear hunting last month, which further deepens the extreme and destructive anti-carnivore stance that is coming to define Gov. Martinez's Game Commission."
The Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter represents more than 7,000 members in New Mexico and West Texas whose mission is explore, enjoy and protect the planet.