LAS CRUCES, NM.— Wolf supporters will hold a rally before the New Mexico State Game Commission meeting Friday where Mexican wolf management will be discussed. Supporters will ask the commission to work to restore lost genetic diversity in this unique and imperiled subspecies of the gray wolf.

“State biologists should release well-bonded wolf families into the wild together,” said Michael Robinson, a senior conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Wolves are highly intelligent animals and form tightknit families. Supporting those wolf families will maximize genetic diversity and help ensure their survival.”

What: Pro-wolf rally, public comments and possible management decisions by the New Mexico State Game Commission on Mexican gray wolves.

Where: Loretto Town Centre, 505 S. Main St., Ste. 249, Las Cruces, NM 88001; and online.

When: Rally at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 8. Commission meeting at 9 a.m. Wolves are agenda item #11.

Who: Center for Biological Diversity, Wildlife For All, WildEarth Guardians, Sierra Club and community members will rally and testify for wolves. The New Mexico State Game Commission may adopt new policies for Mexican wolf management.

Background

Mexican gray wolves’ genetic diversity is dangerously low, yet the captive population retains 36% more unique genes than the wild population. More than 66% of wolves released together as families from 1998 to 2006 succeeded, whereas just 24% of pups released into the dens of non-familial wolves from 2016 to 2023 were seen alive again. Family pack releases should be resumed.

Mexican gray wolves north of Interstate 40 are captured and brought back, depriving the population of vital genes from northern gray wolves in Colorado. Wolves should be allowed to roam freely.