Can We Save the Wolf?

www.nmwild.org By Stephen Capra It was 1998. After two decades of planning, environmental assessment, threats of litigation, and sometimes ran- corous public debate, something special was happening. Mexican wolves were once again free in the wilds of the Blue Range of Arizona and poised to return to the Gila country of New Mexico. It was a hopeful moment for the most imper- iled subspecies of gray wolf in North America—the Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi.) Much like recovery efforts in the northern Rocky Mountains, where wolves had been released into Yellow- stone National Park and central Idaho, TRAGIC CONSEQUENCES: CAN WE SAVE THE WOLF? it seemed we had learned in the South- west to share our lands with native wildlife. Working with ranchers and rural communities, conservationists sensed a new respect for nature and a desire for ecological balance taking root after generations of abuse and slaughter. But unlike Yellowstone’s success, the fate of the Mexican lobo is far from certain. The story of Canis lupus baileyi is a complex and mostly frustrating tale of good intentions, an old West mentality, politics, and unsatisfactory results. Origi- nally, the Mexican wolf ranged from central Mexico to today’s U.S. Interstate 10 in Arizona and New Mexico. It was exterminated from the southwestern United States by the U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey. In 1950, the Bureau’s successor agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, launched a program in Mexico that eliminated almost all of its wolves by the mid-1970s. Such see CAN WE SAVE , pg. 12 s t e p h e n c a p r a • e x e c u t i v e d i r e c t o r Notes from the Executive Director The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance will be celebrating it’s tenth anniversary next year and a few people have asked, why is there not more wilderness created on a regular basis? I thought I would take a moment to better explain the frustrating pace of wilderness preservation. Wilderness has never been an easy process. The Wilderness Act itself was not a simple piece of legislation. The first draft of the wilderness bill was written by Howard Zanhiser in 1956. It was rewritten 65 times, and had over 18 public hearings spanning nine years. On September 3, 1964 President Johnson signed it into law. Overnight more than nine million acres of wilderness were put into the system and since that time 680 areas have been protected adding up to almost 107,000,000 acres in 44 states. (The bulk of the acreage was created with the pas- sage of the Alaska Lands Act in 1980.) But since the 80’s the pace of wilderness designation has slowed dramatically. In states like Montana, which has one of the oldest state- based wilderness organizations in the West, no ness slow down. California passed the Califor- new wilderness has been added since 1978. nia Desert Protection Act in 1992, and that bill In Idaho, no wilderness has been added since included some significant tracts of wilderness. 1980, though this year they may get legisla- Nevada, with Senate Minority leader Harry Reid tion passed to protect an area known as the a strong wilderness supporter, has passed three Boulder-White Clouds. In Wyoming, Washing- bills since 2000 and Colorado got a single area ton, Texas and Oregon, the last wilderness protected in 2000. bill passed in 1984. In South Dakota, the last bill passed in 1980 and for Hawaii and North Today, the political landscape is much more Dakota no bill has passed since 1978. In Ari- difficult. Congressman Richard Pombo, R- zona, the last wilderness legislation was passed CA, an anti-environmental zealot controls the in 1990. House Natural Resources Committee and has made passing wilderness legislation a difficult There are some exceptions to this wilder- and frustrating situation. Wilderness bills today have increasingly included non-wilderness pro- visions like land disposal to appease a broader audience and create income for federal agen- 4 New Mexico’s National Grasslands cies such as the Bureau of Land Management. 5 National Parks Update The concept of disposal remains controversial, 6 Doña Ana Wilderness Update but in fact has been part of wilderness bills 7 Campaña del Condada de Doña Ana from the earliest days. 7 A Wild Return: Doug Scott One of the first wilderness areas put into the 8 Off Road Vehicle Update system in 1964 was the San Gabriel Wilder- 8 Roadless Rule Update ness. But before that bill was passed into law, 9 Valle Vidal Update more than 1000 acres of primitive area were 10 Ojito Celebration Day “released” so that the bill could pass objec- 10 Is Pete Domenici Poised to Make History? tions. This land was not transferred into private hands or other agencies, but remained National 11 Otero Mesa Forest lands. The same applied with the 1980 12 Can we save the Wolf? New Mexico Wilderness bill, where about 1000 15 Wilderness ABC’s acres in the southeast corner of the Gila Primi- 16 Success of NMWA Service Projects tive Area were removed from the bill, but again 17 Action Alert remained part of the National Forest. Today, 18 People & Wilderness these and similar lands are designated to be new mexico 19 Upcoming Service Projects and Hikes disposed of by federal agencies as a means of 20 UNM Wilderness Alliance revenue generation. 21 NMWA Sponsors But despite these obstacles, the New Mexico 22 Young Voices Wilderness Alliance has been able to help create WILD! 23 Membership & Order Forms SUMMER 2006 continued next page New Mexico WILD! Page 3 (from previous page) one of the nation’s newest wilderness areas with the pas- There could sage of the Ojito Wilderness Act never be in 2005 and we are working stunning closely with the delegation to Main Office introduce bi-partisan legislation newsletter 505/843-8696 • fax 505/843-8697 for a Doña Ana County Wilder- [email protected] • www.nmwild.org covers P.O. Box 25464 ness bill. Such a bill could pro- without Albuquerque, NM 87125 tect more than 320,000 acres of Las Cruces Field Office wilderness surrounding the city stunning 275 N. Downtown Mall Las Cruces, NM 88001 of Las Cruces, including pro- photos. 505/527-9962 tection for the beloved Organ Mountains. New Mexico lags Mission Statement behind many western states in The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance is dedicated to the protection, restoration, its amount of designated wil- thank You, and continued enjoyment of New Mexico’s derness. Less than 2% of our wildlands and Wilderness areas. state currently enjoys wilder- David NMWA Staff ness designation. In California Las Cruces Office Jeff Steinborn, Southern NM Director more than 15% has wilderness Muench! Alberto Zavala, Grassroots Organizer designation. In Arizona more Albuquerque Office than 6% is protected. Tisha Broska, Membership Coordinator Stephen Capra, Executive Director Wilderness has never been Tripp Killin, Associate Director Nathan Newcomer, Grassroots Organizer an easy sell, but for those of us New Mexico Wilderness Alliance would like to thank photographer Roxanne Pacheco, Finance Manager who have spent time exploring David Muench for the use of his photographs in the Spring 2006 issue Michael Scialdone, Director of Wilderness Protection of New Mexico Wild, featuring many photographs of our Nation’s trea- Trisha London, Membership & Grassroots Assistant and enjoying the solace of open Nathan Small, Wilderness Protection & Tabling Coordinator space there is no substitute. sured National Parks. These photographs are from a beautiful new Working with much smaller book, Our National Parks, photography by David Muench and Essay Board of Directors Wes Leonard, El Paso, TX (Chair) budgets than many western by Ruth Rudner. This book is thoughtfully dedicated to “those with the foresight to set aside parts of America’s original wildlands, and to those Bob Howard, Santa Fe, NM (V.Chair) states, the New Mexico Wilder- Tom Mouck, Albuquerque, NM (Treasurer) with the fortitude to protect them in our national parks, to the framers Todd Hotchkiss, Albuquerque, NM (Secretary) ness Alliance and our 4,500 Glen Banks, Placitas, NM of the Wilderness Act and to those who uphold its tenets, often against Pam Eaton, Denver, CO members continue to work preposterous odds, we offer what we can -- our images, our words, Dave Foreman, Albuquerque, NM hard at creating coalitions with Brian Miller, Watrous, NM our thanks.” Dave Parsons, Albuquerque, NM diverse partners, ranchers, Carlos Provencio, Bayard, NM Arturo Sandoval, Albuquerque, NM sportsman and the business Thank you David and thank you Ruth for celebrating the idea that Todd Schulke, Silver City, NM community to make sure wil- there is no difference between the earth and us and for helping us cel- Bob Tafanelli, Las Cruces, NM Rick Wiedenmann, Carlsbad, NM derness designation is part of ebrate your home state of New Mexico. Your photographs and your Newsletter Staff the future of New Mexico. words are just a small reflection of your dedication to preserving our Tisha Broska, Managing Editor beautiful wild landscapes and for preserving us. Joe Adair, Design Editor A LEGACY BEQUEST: What is Wilderness? The Wilderness Act of 1964 NEW MEXICO WILDERNESS ALLIANCE established the National Wilder- ness Preservation System to pre- By Bob Howard the work. We can take actions today of New Mexico, and the wildlife serve the last remaining wild- that will protect the places we love and plants that make them unique. When folks talk about wilder- lands in America. The Wilderness now, and continue protecting them Act, as federal policy, secures “an ness, and about protecting the wild That’s why I’m including a long after we’re gone.

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