Notes from the Field ~ Interview with Dave Parsons re: Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery

Dave Parsons is a retired wildlife biologist who worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 24 years, during which he oversaw the Mexican wolf recovery program.

I met Dave when he served as my graduate school advisor at Prescott College, and I am proud to say he now serves on Project Coyote’s Science Advisory Board.

While ostensibly retired, Dave continues his efforts to pressure the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure full recovery of Mexican wolves to their historic range. We are so very grateful to have Dave in our pack and leading this effort.

I hope you enjoy this Notes from the Field interview with Dave that focuses on Mexican gray wolf recovery—a subject that is so close to his heart—and that you will consider taking advantage of the opportunities Dave suggests to assist in the return of these majestic animals to their native home in the Southwest.

For wild nature,

Camilla: As a former wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), you oversaw that agency’s efforts in the 1990s to reintroduce the Mexican gray wolf to portions of its former range in the Southwest. Can you share the current status of Mexican gray wolves, and what plans or programs FWS is considering implementing going forward?

Dave: The official count of wild Mexican wolves as of the end of 2019 was 163 in the states of Arizona and New Mexico, where Mexican wolves are legally allowed to live – south of Interstate 40. Given that we started at zero in 1998, that number may seem impressive. But, had the FWS followed the law and the science and pushed back on the opposition from the States to meaningful recovery and necessary releases from the captive population, that number could easily be 2 to 3 times higher; and we could be well on our way to recovering the highly endangered Lobos of the Southwest.

While the increasing number of Mexican wolves in the wild is encouraging, many problems persist that continue to threaten their extinction. These include severe genetic inbreeding, excessive human-caused mortality by both poachers and the agency managers, and political opposition to the recovery effort primarily from the States and hunting and livestock interests.

The USFWS’s plans for the future are being driven by a Federal Court order, which resulted from a lawsuit filed by several lobo advocacy groups. Conservation plaintiffs argued that a 2015 regulation adopted by the FWS for managing the wild population most certainly would lead to the eventual extinction of Mexican wolves. The Federal Court agreed and concluded that the FWS failed to follow the best science and that the regulation would not lead to the eventual recovery of the Lobos. The Court has given the agency until May 2021 to remedy several identified deficiencies.

For example, the Court found that the absolute population cap of 325 wolves in the US Southwest was unscientific, and I have seen ample evidence that the population cap was politically motivated. This number will be revisited. Independent scientists appointed by the FWS to a Recovery Team in 2010 recommended 750 wolves in 3 connected subpopulations in the US Southwest encompassing parts of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. The States fervently opposed that science-based recommendation, and the FWS terminated the work of the recovery team and shelved the draft recovery plan they produced. Of course, this prompted more litigation, which remains in play.

Throughout the 30-year history of the Mexican wolf recovery project, all significant advancements and improvements to the program have been forced through lawsuits filed on behalf of Lobo advocates.

Camilla: Are there ways the general public can actively involve themselves in helping to ensure that these wolves aren’t extirpated?

Dave: You could not have asked this question at a better time, Camilla. On April 15, USFWS initiated a formal 60-day public involvement process called “scoping” to gather ideas and recommendations for the content of the court ordered revised regulation which will set the rules for managing the wild population for the next decade or more.

Time is running out for Mexican wolves. This is quite likely the last best opportunity for wolf advocates to engage in a public process for the purpose ensuring that the rarest subspecies of the gray wolf does not vanish forever from the Southwestern landscape – in other words, preventing the second extinction of the Lobos in the wild. And this is likely the last best opportunity for the FWS to “get it right” and lock in a regulatory pathway leading to the recovery and long-term security of the Mexican gray wolf. We need to guide the agency down the right path to Lobo recovery.

I can hear your constituents saying, “But what can I say that might make a difference?” Project Coyote and The Rewilding Institute are collaborating on the development of extensive, science-based comments to be submitted during the scoping process. The Court Order identified nine significant deficiencies that must be remedied in the revised rule. We have analyzed those deficiencies and will boil down our recommendations for wolf advocates; and we will post background information and suggested talking points on both the Project Coyote and The Rewilding Institute websites under the “action” tabs. Specific guidance on how to officially submit your comments will also be provided.

Camilla: What is your hope and vision for Mexican wolf recovery and what are the greatest impediments to attaining that goal?

Dave: My hope is that the FWS will abide by the findings of the Court and honor the demands in the Court Order to remedy the many deficiencies of the current rule. I hope they will finally realize that they lost this case because they bowed to political pressure applied by the States and ignored the best available science for achieving real recovery and ensuring the long-term survival of Mexican wolves in the US Southwest.

My vision is a future where Mexican gray wolves have been fully restored to their former natural haunts; where they can roam free without politically enforced barriers and constant persecution; where they can once again engage in their keystone role of shaping ecosystems, improving the health and vigor of their prey, and enriching the biodiversity of the landscape; where they no longer need to be “managed” or wear radio collars; where they get to decide the proper size and distribution of their populations; and where we humans have accepted the Lobos as a natural and essential member of the biotic community just doing what wolves do.

Impediments to this hopeful vision are many and opposition to meaningful recovery remains strong. This opposition is primarily rooted in powerful but minority special interests, which force outdated, non-egalitarian, and un-ecological wildlife policies that have changed little over the last century. But our history is replete with examples of conservation and social victories over seemingly impossible odds. The conservation community is strong and dedicated to the cause of Lobo recovery, the science is on our side, we win lawsuits, we speak out loudly with facts and compassion for our cause, we have consistent polls showing there are far more wolf-lovers than wolf-haters, we have the support of key politicians, and we have the deep love of Nature and stamina to never give up. We need to overwhelm the U.S. Fish and Wildlife with fact-based comments in support of full recovery for the Mexican gray wolf.

* * *

You can help save the Mexican gray wolf!

To find out how, please see Project Coyote’s Action Alert and attend Project Coyote’s and The Rewilding Institute’s free webinar on May 12, 2020.

Please stay engaged and speak out in support of the conservation and recovery of our iconic and ecologically essential Lobos of the Southwest.