Take action for America's most endangered wolves

Red wolves are one of the most endangered species in the world. As few as 28 of these wolves remain in the wild today. The USFWS has proposed radically scaling back the range these wolves occupy and removing most of the wild wolves and placing them into captivity.

Please speak out today opposing this plan and in support of actions to recover red wolves in the wild.

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Subject:

RE: FWS-R4-ES-2017-0006-0001

The Red Wolf Recovery Plan called for the reintroduction of wolves into at least three areas within the wolf's historic range. Each population should be allowed to grow numerically large enough for the natural evolutionary processes to work within the species and remove threats of extinction. This could be accomplished by achieving three wild populations totaling approximately 220 wolves.

The wild population in eastern North Carolina has been the most successful of all wild reintroductions of red wolves, reaching 130 wolves in 2005. This site--as well as others--allows for the eventual establishment of a healthy metapopulation, featuring interactions between populations to achieve the necessary exchange of genetic material critical to species restoration and eventual delisting. Increased genetic diversity from additional reintroductions will further act to mitigate inbreeding depression associated with small isolated populations. Expansion of the current wild program is also of critical importance as a genetic buffer against disease.

Tools for population management must include controlling coyote hybridization and gunshot mortality, as well as pup fostering, which is a significant population management tool for ensuring red wolf recovery. The threat of hybridization is minimized by promoting an environment that bolsters red wolf populations and supports encounters between red wolves. Establishing sterile placeholder coyote individuals in the landscape to reduce hybridization can work, and needs to be part of any revised recovery strategy. Disease monitoring and prevention plans are also needed. Perhaps most importantly, the red wolf program needs a 10(j) rule that prioritizes red wolf conservation and recovery instead of allowing landowners to kill wolves, especially when nonlethal methods of avoiding conflict are widely available, and the population is so vulnerable.

According to Sparkman, Hinton, Bohling, Waits, and other experts on coyote/red wolf hybridization, in larger populations, red wolves will likely have less incidence of hybridization with other species of canids, as red wolves will have a larger pool of available mates. In addition, the Red Wolf Adaptive Management Plan--including targeted control of coyotes and hybrids and release of sterilized coyotes to hold territories until red wolves move into the territory or are reintroduced--was extremely effective at limiting introgression of coyote genes into the red wolf population. In fact, the US Fish and Wildlife Service itself concluded in its last five-year review of the red wolf: "We have effectively reduced interbreeding and coyote gene introgression using the adaptive plan and associated non-invasive techniques, all with assistance from scientists on the Red Wolf Recovery Implementation Team."

A revised 10(j) rule must truly provide for the conservation of red wolves. The current implementation of the rule has allowed for the dramatic decline in the species in recent years, showing that greater protections are needed. Gunshot mortality and removals from private lands have become leading threats to the species; the lenient standards currently in place, intended to bolster landowner support for the program, must be balanced against the needs of the species.

Sincerely, Your Name

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