November, 20 2009, 12:33pm EDT
Center for Biological Diversity Warns of Lawsuit Over Delay in Mexican Wolf Protection
SILVER CITY, NM
The Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal 60-day notice of
intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today over the
agency's failure to respond to a scientific petition to list the Mexican gray wolf as "endangered" separate from other gray wolves nationwide.
"The
Mexican gray wolf has fallen through the cracks and is receiving
insufficient protection," said Michael Robinson of the Center. "Timely
action is essential. We hope the government will acknowledge the strong
science we submitted and begin the relisting process immediately."
The
Center for Biological Diversity filed the petition on August 11, 2009,
triggering a statutory requirement for an initial finding on the
petition's scientific merit within 90 days - a deadline that has passed
without action.
The Center's petition requests that
the Mexican wolf be designated as an endangered subspecies or distinct
population segment of the gray wolf to ensure that a new recovery plan
is developed that includes criteria for recovery and delisting - which
the Mexican wolf does not now have.
"The Mexican
gray wolf is a distinct entity that deserves unique recognition and
recovery efforts," said Robinson. "Mexican wolf recovery has fallen off
the tracks in recent years in part because of the legal limbo the
species faces as a subset of the larger listed gray wolf."
Since
1978, the endangered listing for Mexican wolves has been folded into a
much broader listing for gray wolves across much of the United States
and, as a consequence, there are no criteria for how many animals and
in what distribution would constitute recovery for this most-imperiled
subspecies.
At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do so through science, law and creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters and climate that species need to survive.
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