Friday, March 14, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
KiMo Theater in Downtown Albuquerque
FREE ADMISSION

Just 23 wild Mexican Gray Wolves are left in New Mexico today. Ignoring science and bowing to pressure from special interests, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has abandoned its legal obligation to protect, conserve, and recover the Mexican Gray Wolf – the most endangered mammal in North America.

Despite the challenges that our lobos, our amigos, face there is something that every New Mexican can do to reverse this course and ensure that the Mexican Gray Wolf lives on forever.

On Friday, March 14th from 7-9pm at the KiMo Theater in downtown Albuquerque, a coalition of conservationists, sportsmen, and elected officials will host Dia de Los Lobos, a public rally for ensuring the preservation of our Mexican Gray Wolves. This event is free and open to the public.

Please come be a part of a historic evening and help send a powerful message to Washington, D.C. that our wild Mexican Gray Wolves need to be protected. With only 23 wild lobos left in New Mexico, the time to act is NOW!

Answer the howl to action and be the difference in saving our lobos in New Mexico. For more information, please contact Nathan Newcomer: nathan@nmwild.org / 505-843-8696

http://nmwild.org/events/dia-de-los-lobos

Navy’s Use of Sonar Is Severely Limited – washingtonpost.com
By Marc Kaufman, Washington Post Staff Writer

A federal judge yesterday severely limited the Navy’s ability to use mid-frequency sonar on a training range off the Southern California coast, ruling that the loud sounds would harm whales and other marine mammals if not tightly controlled.

The decision is a blow to the Navy, which has argued that it needs the flexibility to train its sonar operators without undue restrictions. In her decision, however, U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper said the Navy could conduct productive training under the limitations, which she said were required under several environmental laws.

In particular, Cooper banned the use of the sonar within 12 nautical miles of the California coast, expanded from 1,100 yards to 2,200 yards the Navy’s proposed “shut down” zone in which sonar must be turned off whenever a marine mammal is spotted, required monitoring for the presence of animals for one hour before exercises involving sonar begin, and required that two National Marine Fisheries Service-trained lookouts be posted for monitoring during exercises. The judge also forbade sonar use in the Catalina Basin, an area with many marine mammals.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/03/AR2008010303887.html?wpisrc=newsletter

ABQjournal Go: Sanctuary Helps Wolves Keep Wild Spirit
By Journal Staff Report

The Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary is a haven for abused, abandoned and captivity-bred wolves and wolf dogs.

The purpose of the sanctuary is to provide wolves and wolf dogs with a permanent and safe place.

The sanctuary is able to rescue a small number of animals including tough cases, or animals that cannot go anywhere else, and provide them with a lifetime of protection.

The sanctuary was founded by artist Jacque Evans in 1991 and is now run by “wolf whisperer” Leyton Cougar.

Cougar, 47, who has been with the sanctuary since 1996, took over running it in 2003.

http://www.abqjournal.com/go/274291go01-03-08.htm

Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary – Wolf Rescue, Wolf Dog, Sanctuary
http://www.wildspiritwolfsanctuary.org/index.htm

Wild Spirit offers guided tours six days a week, four times a day. Tours range in length from roughly 45 minutes to as long as 1 1/2 hours depending on the size and age of the group, the interest of guests and activity of the animals. [mjh: See their website for more plus directions.]

Call Governor Richardson Immediately
(505) 476-2200

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has issued an IMMEDIATE REMOVAL ORDER for the Aspen Wolf Pack of Mexican wolves in southwestern New Mexico. This pack includes two adult females and two pups. The Aspen Wolf Pack contains some of the most valuable genes in the wild population.

ABQjournal NM: Around New Mexico – Wolves Ordered Removed

LAS CRUCES— The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Wednesday issued an order to remove two adult wolves and several pups from the wild due to livestock kills on ranches south of Magdalena.

The wolves targeted for removal include two adult females from the Aspen pack, the alpha female designated 667 and a yearling female 1046, along with pups born in the spring.

The pups will be trapped but the adult females might be killed if they are not readily captured by federal agents, Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Elizabeth Slown said.

The Aspen pack adult females have been responsible for killing eight cattle since Jan. 9, Slown said.

The Aspen pack alpha male and two female pups were captured outside the wolf recovery area in New Mexico on Nov. 1. The alpha male and one pup are being held at a wildlife refuge north of Socorro, while the other pup was released and remains in the wild.

So far this year, federal agents have removed 11 wolves from southeast Arizona or southwest New Mexico and killed three others for livestock depredations.

The agency also continues to look for the three-member Durango pack, which disappeared from its range in the Gila National Forest earlier this month. Fish and Wildlife’s law enforcement officers are investigating the disappearance and a reward of up to $10,000 has been offered for information leading to an apprehension.

ABQjournal NM: Wildlife Service Seeks Input on Wolf Recovery By Rene Romo, Journal Southern Bureau

LAS CRUCES— The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday will hold the first of six scoping sessions in New Mexico to gather public comment about possible changes to the federal recovery effort for the endangered Mexican gray wolf.

”We have been reintroducing wolves into the wild for nine years now and we’ve learned a thing or two,” said Brian Millsap of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the lead agency for the program. ”We want to hear from everyone else on what they have learned and what their recommendations are for recovering the Mexican wolf.”

The Fish and Wildlife Service held the first of 12 open-house style meetings across Arizona and New Mexico on Monday night in Flagstaff.

The scoping sessions are designed to gather public comments, from supporters and critics of the reintroduction effort, in order to draft proposed changes to the rule governing management of the wolf population, which numbers about 59 in southeast Arizona and southwest New Mexico.

Fish and Wildlife will then conduct an environmental impact statement and a socioeconomic assessment of the draft proposed rule.

Dave Parsons, former Fish and Wildlife Service director of the wolf recovery program, said, ”This is the public’s opportunity to have input into the content of the environmental assessment, before they actually start it.”

The schedule of the New Mexico sessions:
# Thursday, Grants, Best Western, 1501 E. Santa Fe Ave., 5-9 p.m.

# Friday, Albuquerque, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, 2401 12th St. NW, 5-9 p.m.

# Saturday, Socorro, Macey Conference Center, New Mexico Tech, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

# Monday, Alamogordo, Tays Special Events Center, New Mexico State University Branch, 2400 N. Scenic Drive, 5-9 p.m.

# Dec. 4, Las Cruces, Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, 4100 Dripping Springs Road, 5-9 p.m.

# Dec. 5, Glenwood, Glenwood Community Center, 5-9 p.m.
– – – – –
Submit written comments by 12/31/07. Include “Attn: Mexican Gray Wolf NEPA Scoping,” your full name and return address. Send comments to:

Brian Millsap, State Administrator
US Fish and Wildlife Service
New Mexico Ecological Services Field Office
2105 Osuna NE
Albuquerque, NM 87113
fax: 505-346-2542
email: r2fwe_al@fws.gov
www.mexicanwolfeis.org
www.mexicangraywolf.org