Let’s Talk New Mexico 10/12 8a: This summer the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a long-awaited draft management plan for the Mexican gray wolf. It has come under intense criticism from many quarters.
Environmentalists and wolf advocates are concerned it does not promote enough genetic diversity, caps the number of wolves that will be allowed to exist in the wild at a level that's too lowand designates a habitat range that is too small.
Many ranchers are concerned about predation on their livestock by wolves and are frustrated by the size of payments they can get for dead livestock and the process to qualify for the payments. They also want to see more progress toward de-listing the wolf as an endangered species.
Why are wolves important to our ecosystem and what will it take to ensure they are no longer endangered? How can we ensure the coexistence of wolves with other land uses?
Email letstalk@kunm.org, call in live during the show, or tag us in a Tweet #letstalkNM.
Guests:
- Mike Phillips, director, Turner Endangered Species Fund
- Sherry Barrett, Mexican wolf recovery coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Caren Cowan, executive director, New Mexico Cattlegrowers' Association
- Craig Miller, senior Southwest representative, Defenders of Wildlife
- Sisto Hernandez, chairman, Mexican Wolf/Livestock Co-Existence Council and range management specialist, White Mountain Apache Tribe
Reading:
- Mexican Wolf Recovery Planning Site - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Fish & Wildlife Service Mexican Wolf Page
- Mexican Wolf Population Statistics
- Biologists, Wildlife Managers Divided On Basics Of Wolf Recovery - Arizona Daily Sun
- Ladder Ranch Wolf Management Facility -- Turner Endangered Species Fund
- NM Game Commission Votes To Support Federal Wolf Recovery Plan - Albuquerque Journal
- New Mexico Dems Call Federal Government’s Wolf Recovery Plan Flawed, Politically Driven - Santa Fe New Mexican
- Endangered Wolf Killed After Livestock Attacks - Associated Press
- Thousands Weigh In On Wolf Recovery Plan - Santa Fe New Mexican
- Environmentalists, Ranchers Trade Barbs Over Killing Of Gray Wolf - The Copper Era
- Court Removes Obstacles To Releasing Wolves In New Mexico - Associated Press
- Predator Politics - Santa Fe Reporter
- U.S. Fish And Wildlife Swaps Mexican Grey Wolf Pops In Recovery Effort - KUNM
- Editorial: New Wolf Recovery Plan Needs To Focus On Science - Albuquerque Journal
- Critics Pan Wolf Plan - Science
- Ranchers Find Unlikely Partner In Defenders Of Wildlife Group - White Mountain Independent
- Tribal Perspectives On Mexican Wolf Recovery - Fish and Wildlife Service
