ABQjournal NM: Richardson Chastises Federal Agency, By Jeff Jones, Journal Staff Writer
[Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Elizabeth] Slown said that during its annual wolf count early this year, her agency found 59 wolves in the wild. Some of those wolves have since had pups, boosting the total. …
She added that to her recollection, 16 wolves have been removed for depredation problems in New Mexico and Arizona over the past two years— eight by being trapped and placed in permanent captivity, and eight by being shot.
However, Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity said the actual number of wolves shot by federal sharpshooters is 11. [mjh: Mama, don’t let your boys grow up to be federal sharpshooters. Is it too much to wish one of these federal killers could find the tiniest spark of decency within and refuse to kill again?]
He said another 20 wolves have died as a direct result of federal capture operations.
http://www.abqjournal.com/news/state/576632nm07-07-07.htm
Richardson calls for suspension of ‘three strikes’ rule against endangered wolves, by Sue Major Holmes/, Associated Press
Gov. Bill Richardson is calling for the suspension of a policy that requires federal wildlife officials to trap or shoot to death any endangered Mexican gray wolf that kills three head of livestock in a year. …
The governor said the killing of the wolf is a setback to a program that began in 1998 to release endangered Mexican gray wolves in Arizona and New Mexico. He wants the federal government to stop shooting or otherwise permanently removing wolves from the wild until the program’s rules can be overhauled. …
Michael Robinson, conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity in Pinos Altos, said the center supports Richardson’s call for suspending and reforming the federal rule.
“This wolf killing is a blatant abuse of federal power. It is undermining the recovery of the Mexican gray wolf, and is just the latest in a string of attacks on endangered species by the Bush administration,” he said.
John Horning, executive director of Forest Guardians in Santa Fe, said he heard the governor’s request with “a sigh of relief and a good measure of gratitude.” Horning said he’d been hoping someone would stand up against what he called a massacre of wolves.
The governor’s request did not meet with universal support.
Catron County Manager Bill Aymar said that “perhaps we should call them the ‘standard operating suggestions,”’ and likened Richardson’s request to changing the rules in the middle of a game. …
“I strongly support the effective recovery of endangered Mexican wolves in the Southwest, done in a responsible and sensitive way,” [Richardson] said. “Changes must be made to the protocol for the wolf re-introduction program.”
The government has killed three wolves this year for cattle kills. Last year, it shot five wolves for cattle kills and permanently removed three others from the wild. In 2005, one wolf was killed and four put into permanent capture.
http://www.abqjournal.com/news/state/apwolves07-07-07.htm