A federal judge is set to make a decision in a landmark lawsuit that could reshape the future management of the Mexican gray wolf.
In their suit, conservationists are challenging something called the 10(j) rule under the Endangered Species Act – which allows threatened and endangered species to be carefully reintroduced into their historic habitat under special conditions.
The Mexican gray wolf, for example, is severely limited in where it’s allowed to roam in New Mexico and Arizona – with a bulk of the area sitting between the Apache-Sitgreaves and Gila national forests to I-40.
Despite the experimental recovery area boundaries, some wolves have decided to cross it in the search of mates – one of them several times – and, on Friday, another female wolf nicknamed “Ella” was spotted 20 miles north of the boundary near Mount Taylor.
Many claim the artificial lines are arbitrary and must be removed, and still others say the management rule has caused a “genetic crisis.”
“Any two individual Mexican wolves in the wild in the United States are about as related to each other as brother and sister,” said Aaron Bloom, senior attorney for the Earthjustice Biodiversity Defense Program, one of the suit’s plaintiffs.
Bloom said the issue stems back from the reintroduction of the Mexican gray wolf in 1998, which started with just seven wolves.
While the lobo has seen a huge boost in population growth in recent years, Bloom said more captive wolves need to be introduced because they are less genetically inbred than those in the wild.
“And it's important to do that quickly,” Bloom said. “It's much easier to improve genetics when the population is small than after it has already grown to a large size and still has these built in genetic problems.”
The current rule outlines that the genetic problem will be alleviated once 22 captive wolves released into the wild survive to breeding age.
But, Bloom argues, it doesn’t require any evidence that genetic diversity could improve – like making sure those wolves bred in captivity are capable of breeding in the wild or genetic testing, leaving serious concerns about long-term population health.
KUNM contacted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for comment, but a spokesperson said they don't comment on pending litigation.
U.S. Federal District Court Judge Scott Rash in Arizona heard oral arguments for a rule revision earlier this month and a decision is expected in the coming weeks.
The agency has lost similar suits in the past. In 2015, a judge ruled past guidelines failed to “further the conservation of the species,” leading to a revision in 2017 – which was also challenged.
