February 1, 2011 – Federal wildlife officials announced that they counted 50 wild Mexican gray wolves in vast stretch of forest between southeast Arizona and southwest New Mexico.  The Fish and Wildlife Service’s southwest regional director, Benjamin Tuggle, said the data from the USFWS’s annual survey includes 29 wolves in Arizona and 21 in New Mexico. This news is encouraging as the wild Mexican wolf population numbered less than 40 at the end of 2010.   Will the Mexican wolf, one of the rarest mammals in our North America, continue to grow in coming years?  It’s possible they won’t be granted the opportunity if wolf bill H.R. 509 is passed. Last week Denny Rehberg (R-MT) introduced this bill into the House of Representatives which aims to strip all protections from gray wolves nationwide.
Click here to read more about this year’s annual survey as posted on AZCentral.com.
To learn more about H.R. 509, please read last week’s post “Don’t Get so Emotional.”