Grey Wolves
Washington state’s grey wolf population went up by over 30 percent in 2014, said a survey released on Friday by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife or WDFW. The study said that besides the higher headcount, four new packs were discovered in the yearly survey. The survey placed the total number of grey wolves at 68, up from 52. The number of packs also grew to 16 from 12. During the 12-month period covered by the survey, 10 wolves died. (IN PHOTO) Ecologist Dmitry Shamovich plays with tamed wolf at his house in the remote village of Sosnovy Bor, some 270 km (168 miles) northeast of MInsk November 8, 2012. Photo taken November 8, 2012. Reuters

The Arizona Game and Fish Department has filed a lawsuit on Monday against the federal government, claiming that it had not updated the plan to conserve the Mexican grey wolf species, KNAU reports. The lawsuit is pushing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or USFWS, to come up with a plan, which includes guidelines so that grey wolves can be removed from the endangered species list.

According to assistant director for wildlife management of Arizona Game and Fish Department, Jim deVos in an AZ Central report, wildlife management should encompass having a “target number of animals” to maintain the balance in the ecosystem. “We want a healthy population of wolves in balance with social, economic and wildlife needs in the state of Arizona,” he said.

Currently, Arizona is adopting the 1982 Mexican wolf recovery plan. The USFWS maintained the plan which included captive breeding programs and re-establishing wolf population by releasing about 100 Mexican wolves in 1998.

Now, the Game and Fish department says that the 1982 recovery plan did not manage to set the number of wolves to be considered as recovered so that the species can be delisted in the future. Since the release of the wolves in 1998, their population has risen slowly and according to deVos, 109 wolves are currently found in the state.

Conservationists are continuing on their fight to save the endangered wolves, but the recent lawsuit doesn’t seem right for some of them. According to AZ Central report, the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon chapter director Sandy Bahr said that if the state is interested in wolf recovery, they should not advocate for caps on the number of wolves. Despite complaints that the Game and Fish Department has given, it is determined to carry on with their plan and see the USFWS create new strategies that can make for a successful recovery.

KNAU reports that the Monday lawsuit is not the first that involves the state and the Mexican gray wolf. The state reportedly sued the service to block their plans of allowing the wolves to settle in large Arizona areas considered to be not part of the historic range.

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