Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Eradicate hurdles to wolf reintroduction


The reintroduction of the endangered Mexican gray wolf is not just about Arizona. This effort reflects our national commitment to endangered species and serves a long-standing national value for healthy ecosystems.
Arizona has a particular interest in these wolves because they are being recovered on federal land here and in New Mexico. The Arizona Game and Fish Commission was right to reaffirm the state's involvement with the federal wolf program, which began before the first animals were released in 1998.

But the commission was wrong in voting last week to oppose the release of new wolves until a new federal plan is developed for the program.
Yes, that plan is overdue. Yes, applying the spurs is a good idea. But finalizing the plan could take years. The wolf effort needs new blood now.

The number of wolves on the ground in Arizona and New Mexico has fallen to about 50 animals. This was due, in part, to a misguided -- and since discontinued -- management rule that led to the killing or capture of wild wolves that preyed on cattle.
The concerns of ranchers using public land are important. But ranchers' interests must be balanced with the needs of a recovery program the public supports on those same public lands.

Our state should not erect roadblocks to increasing the wolf population.
Commissioners should ponder the importance of new wolves to the recovery effort and reconsider.
It is important to restore this top predator to the ecosystem. Such recovery efforts go beyond the interests of one or two states. They reflect a cherished national value for ecosystem health and biological diversity.
It's an interest Congress established decades ago with the Endangered Species Act, and one that will benefit Americans now and for generations to come.

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