What is the reintroduction plan?
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), in cooperation with the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD), the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF), USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services (WS) and USDA Forest Service (USFS), began releasing captive-reared Mexican wolves into the designated “primary recovery zone” in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests in east-central Arizona in 1998. Released wolves and their progeny have been designated a nonessential experimental population under a special provision of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This area is referred to as the “Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area.” The reintroduction objective is to re-establish a wild population of at least 100 Mexican wolves.
