SILVER CITY, N.M.— Grant County residents will rally in support of imperiled Mexican gray wolves ahead of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s town hall in Silver City on July 17. The wolves, which live in the nearby Gila National Forest, are widely supported by locals, who want to see their recovery guided by science and not politics.

“Those of us who live in rural and small town southwestern New Mexico dearly love our Mexican wolves and we’re excited to show the governor our enthusiasm for seeing captive-born wolf families released together into the wild,” said Michael Robinson, a senior conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Mexican wolves are suffering from a lack of genetic diversity, but our elected officials have a chance to correct course. A good start would be to release the wandering wolf Asha and her family back into the wild.”

What: A pro-wolf outdoor rally preceding Gov. Lujan Grisham’s town hall.

When: Thursday, July 17, 4:45 p.m.

Where: Outside the Grant County Veterans Memorial Business and Conference Center, 3031 Highway 180 East, Silver City 88061.

Who: Residents of southwestern New Mexico and a Center for Biological Diversity representative.

Background

Chronic mismanagement of the Mexican gray wolf population that was reintroduced to New Mexico and Arizona in 1998 led to the loss of genetic diversity. All Mexican wolves alive today stem from just seven animals captured from the wild between the 1960s and 1980.

But the southwestern reintroduced population’s genetic diversity has plummeted since then. The captive population has one-third more genes, necessitating effective captive wolf releases and tremendous care in deciding on any wolf removals from the wild.

With wolf removals now increasing and a planned release stalled, locals hope that Gov. Lujan Grisham will help curb trapping and shooting and spur family pack releases, starting with the wild-born wolf Asha and her captive-born mate and pups.