I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Illegal shooting is responsible for the stagnating numbers of endangered Mexican gray wolves in New Mexico’s Gila National Forest and land in Arizona, reveals a survey released today by the National Forest Service.
Although 11 pups survived the breeding season, 11 wolves died in 2008 — at least five of them illegally shot.
According to survey results, five wolves were illegally shot, and two others died under suspicious circumstances; they are awaiting necropsy now. In 2008 two wolves were hit by cars, and two died of natural causes. Although 18 pups were born, only 11 survived until Dec. 31.
There were 52 wolves in the area in 2007 and in 2008, according to the service. The reintroduction project’s goal is to have at 100 wolves in order for the species to recover enough to be removed from the endangered species list.
“Except for the illegal shooting or suspicious demise of seven wolves, 2008 would have seen Mexican wolf populations on the upswing again. These mortalities are an intolerable impediment to wolf recovery. We will continue to aggressively investigate each illegal wolf killing to help ensure that anyone responsible is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Benjamin N. Tuggle, regional director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Southwest Region, said today in a release.
Since 1998, 30 wild wolves have been illegally shot. Some who live in the rural areas near the reintroduction area have been vocal in their opposition of the wolves, which they say have come dangerously close to their homes, killing their cattle and pets and frightening their families.
Wolves that repeatedly prey on cattle can be removed from the area, but no wolves were removed for that reason in 2008.
