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Judge rules against ranchers in wolf case
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)--A judge has thrown out an effort to shut down the Mexican gray wolf reintroduction program after ranching groups alleged there had been wolf attacks on cattle and hybrid breeding with a dog.
U.S. District Judge M. Christina Armijo issued an order July 6 rejecting a preliminary injunction and saying far more harm would occur if the wolves were denied the survival of their species. She said cattle ranches have legitimate concerns about wolf attacks but that ranchers also have "mitigation measures designed to reduce negative economic impacts caused by the wolf reintroduction program."
The program began with the release of 11 captive-bred wolves into the wild in Arizona in March 1998. About 30 of the wolves were listed in the wild in both New Mexico and Arizona as of late 2003. The goal was to have a sustainable population of 100 Mexican gray wolves in their historic habitat. The wolves were virtually hunted to extinction in the wild during the first half of the 20th century, surviving only in captivity.
"In this case," Armijo said, "the balance of hardships and the public interest weigh in favor of allowing the reintroduction and translocation efforts are likely to further the conservation of the species and thereby advance the congressional priorities set forth (in the law)."
The petition for a preliminary injunction was filed in October by the Coalition of Arizona-New Mexico Counties for Stable Economic Growth and eight other groups, which also asked the court to expedite action in May.
The judge, appointed by President Bush, described the plaintiffs as "nine nonprofit organizations which represent the interests of some members of the livestock industry and some rural economies of Arizona and New Mexico." The lead plaintiff was the coalition of counties, she said. The other eight groups represent those who "reside, farm, ranch, hunt, fish, guide, recreate, own property, or hold licenses or permits" near potential wolf habitat in the two states.
Michael Robinson of Pinos Altos, N.M., staff member with the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity, called the ruling "very fair."
"We're delighted with it--it lifts the pall over the Mexican wolf population," Robinson said.
"If the judge had ruled otherwise," he said, "it would have resulted in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gunning down every wolf they couldn't trap."
Both Robinson and the judge noted a new twist in the plaintiffs' allegation that dogs and wolves would interbreed and produce a "hybrid swarm." Robinson provided federal documents his group obtained through the Freedom of Information Act that showed a canine dog had bred with a female wolf and produced pups that bore non-wolf markings in 2002.
Ranchers earlier had alleged, in 1998, that the wolves being reintroduced were already hybrids, the judge and the environmentalist said.
Such cross-species breeding has been rare in the wild, the judge said, and would be unlikely to compromise reintroduction overall.
"We are very pleased," said Mark Preiss of the Taos-based Western Environmental Law Center, "that the Mexican gray wolf reintroductioin program will be allowed to proceed and that this endangered animal will be allowed to once again roam its home range as a vital part of New Mexico's unique heritage."
Messages were left late July 7 seeking comment from the New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau and from the New Mexico Cattlegrowers Association.
Date: 7/22/04
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