TUCSON, Ariz.— Attorneys for conservation advocates will present oral arguments on Wednesday, March 5, in defense of Mexican gray wolves to Judge Scott Rash at the U.S. Federal District Court of Arizona.

In July 2022 the groups sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for approving a Mexican wolf management rule that threatens to harm the species’ conservation by confining their range and failing to improve the low genetic diversity of the small population. The groups are asking the court to send the rule back to the Service for revision.

What: Oral arguments challenging the Mexican wolf 10(j) management rule.

When: 10 a.m. MST, Wednesday, March 5.

Where: U.S. District Court of Arizona – Tucson Division, Evo A. DeConcini U.S. Courthouse, 405 West Congress Street, Tucson, AZ 85701.

Who: Attorneys with Earthjustice and other members of the conservation groups will be available for interviews after the hearing.

Background

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its predecessor agency exterminated gray wolves from the western United States between 1915 and 1945 on behalf of the livestock industry. The 1973 enactment of the Endangered Species Act led to the live capture of surviving Mexican gray wolves and ultimately the breeding of seven animals, some of whose descendants were reintroduced to the wild in the United States in 1998 and Mexico in 2011.

Since then, the Service has failed to adequately correct mismanagement that previous court decisions have identified as contributing to a genetic crisis in the Mexican gray wolf population, threatening their long-term survival.