http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2167/t/5243/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=27409

Save Mexican Wolves From Trapping, Shooting

Cattle are dying in New Mexico's Gila National Forest -- independently of any wolf activity -- and their carcasses are being left out in the open, where the scent attracts endangered Mexican gray wolves. When wolves are drawn in by smelly dead cattle, they're tempted to spend time near vulnerable livestock and made more likely to seek out cattle instead of their natural prey -- and more likely to be scapegoated and trapped or shot by the federal government. But unlike in the northern Rocky Mountains wolf reintroduction program, livestock owners in the Southwest aren't required to clean up cattle carcasses to prevent wolf scavenging; in fact, in 2007 there were allegations of deliberate baiting of wolves that led to their deaths, and nothing was done. Due to government trapping and shooting, Mexican gray wolves are the most imperiled mammal in North America, numbering just 52 wolves and only two breeding pairs in the wild.

Last year, Arizona's Apache National Forest proposed a management plan requiring cattle clean-up, but the plan hasn't been finalized, and the Gila National Forest has taken no steps to fix the dead-cow problem at all, despite concerns raised by the Center and others in recent months. Currently, two of only three wild Mexican wolf packs in New Mexico are perilously close to dying cattle in the Gila.

Take action now by telling the Gila National Forest and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to clean up cattle carcasses immediately and ensure that wolves that have scavenged aren't blamed for subsequent depredations.

 http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2167/t/5243/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=27409

Two of the three packs of wild Mexican gray wolves roaming New Mexico are at risk as livestock owners fail to clean up dead cattle near their ranges. Altogether, 16 cattle are known to have died this year in the two packs' home ranges. Already, one carcass has been picked clean by a wolf within range of the Dark Canyon Pack. In past years, wolves that scavenged cattle carcasses in that area soon began preying on nearby livestock, prompting the government to trap and shoot them. The Middle Fork Pack is also at risk, with multiple dead cows within a few miles of their den site.

The Apache National Forest in Arizona proposes to require ranchers to clean up such carcasses or render them inedible (though the proposal hasn't been finalized yet), but the Gila National Forest in New Mexico and the Fish and Wildlife Service seem content to wait now and scapegoat the wolves when a conflict ensues later.

Mexican gray wolves were exterminated from the wild by U.S. government poisoning and trapping. At the end of last year, ten years after reintroduction, there were only 52 wolves and two breeding pairs in the wild. This year, there could be as many as eight breeding pairs — but not if the wolves are lured into preying on cattle, then trapped or shot.

Speak up now for the wolves: Use the form below to send a letter to the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Gila National Forest urging them to clean up the carcasses immediately and ensure that scavenging wolves are held blameless for subsequent depredations

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2167/t/5243/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=27409