Center for Biological Diversity


For Immediate Release, July 14, 2015

Contact:  Kevin Bixby, Southwest Environmental Center, (575) 522-5552, kevin@wildmesquite.org
Michael Robinson, Center for Biological Diversity, (575) 313-7017, michaelr@biologicaldiversity.org

Rep. Pearce's Anti-wolf Bill Draws Protesters

Legislation Would Strip Endangered Species Protections From Mexican Wolves

LAS CRUCES, N.M.— Constituents of U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce will rally at noon on Wednesday at the congressman’s Las Cruces office to protest the New Mexico Republican’s sponsorship of a bill to strip protections away from Mexican gray wolves — and to show support for the lobo and the Endangered Species Act, which has saved the animals from extinction.

“Fewer than 120 Mexican wolves live in the wild in the United States and Mexico and they suffer from inbreeding and from ongoing persecution,” said Kevin Bixby of the Southwest Environmental Center. “Without an active, federally led conservation program, the Mexican wolf would likely go extinct.”

Rep. Pearce’s legislation, H.R. 2910, would nullify two federal rules promulgated on Jan. 16 that respectively list the Mexican wolf as an endangered subspecies and prescribe management of the reintroduced population that spans the New Mexico and Arizona state border. Rep. Pearce and his cosponsor Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) have stated that the bill would have the effect of turning over management of the Mexican wolf to state authorities, and that they are considering inserting the language into unrelated spending measures as a rider.

The pro-wolf rally will include remarks by New Mexico Rep. Jeff Steinborn (D-Las Cruces); New Mexico State University conservation geneticist Brook Milligan; award-winning landscape photographer Michael Berman, who lives in the Mimbres Valley and hunts elk in the nearby Gila National Forest; Kevin Bixby, executive director of the Southwest Environmental Center; and Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity, based near the Gila National Forest.

“The Mexican wolf is one of the most imperiled animals in North America, and people living close to them strongly support their survival,” said Robinson. “Congressman Pearce is doing the bidding of a few malcontents who enjoy the privilege of grazing their cattle on public lands while refusing to coexist with a beautiful wild creature that helps to maintain a healthy natural balance in the ecosystems we all depend on.”

The protest rally for the wolves will take place from noon to 1 p.m. on Wednesday at Rep. Pearce’s district office at 570 North Telshor Blvd. in Las Cruces.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 900,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

The Southwest Environmental Center works to protect and restore native wildlife and their habitats in the Southwest.


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