Headlines:Historic Settlement Reached to Save Wild Red Wolves in North Carolina
August 9, 2023.
A landmark agreement has been reached between conservation groups and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to recommit to the conservation and recovery of the world’s only wild red wolf population, which had dwindled to as few as seven individuals in recent years.
The agreement, filed with the US District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, resolves a 2020 lawsuit brought by the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of the Red Wolf Coalition, Defenders of Wildlife, and the Animal Welfare Institute. The lawsuit accused the USFWS of violating the Endangered Species Act by abandoning its previous, successful conservation efforts and adopting a policy that prevented the release of captive red wolves into the wild.
The agreement requires the agency to develop annual plans to release captive red wolves into the wild population and provide annual briefings regarding coyote management efforts for a period of eight years. The plans will be developed in consultation with the agency’s scientists and experts in the field and include metrics to measure the agency’s performance.
The USFWS also acknowledges the importance of the eastern North Carolina red wolf population to red wolf conservation and recovery, and states its intentions to continue to implement adaptive management strategies, prepare captive wolves for release, reduce human-caused mortality, and engage with community members and stakeholders.
The red wolf (Canis rufus) is a native species that once roamed across much of the eastern and south-central United States. It was declared extinct in the wild in 1980 due to habitat loss, persecution, and hybridization with coyotes. In 1987, the USFWS reintroduced red wolves into eastern North Carolina from captive populations and implemented adaptive coyote management to reduce hybridization. The wild red wolf population rebounded from extinction to about 100 animals in the early 2000s, but declined sharply after 2015 when the USFWS suspended its practice of releasing captive wolves into the wild.
The agreement comes after a 2021 court order in this case that directed the USFWS to resume releasing captive wolves into the wild. Following these releases, reproduction in the wild resumed, with wolves giving birth to and raising litters of pups in the wild in 2022 and 2023.
The conservation groups hailed the agreement as a historic victory for red wolf recovery and a model for reintroduction efforts.
“For 25 years, North Carolina was home to one of the most successful predator reintroductions in the world. This settlement puts us on a path to restoring the red wolf to its rightful place as a celebrated success story,” said Ramona McGee, senior attorney and leader of the Southern Environmental Law Center’s wildlife program.
“This settlement marks a new era for the Red Wolf Recovery Program and guarantees action in the near-term to give this species the best chance for long-term survival and recovery,” said Ben Prater, southeast program director at Defenders of Wildlife.
“This agreement pulls wild red wolves back from the brink of extinction. It signals a return to the management approach that was hailed as a model for reintroduction efforts and served the red wolf so well for nearly 30 years,” said Johanna Hamburger, director and senior attorney for the Animal Welfare Institute’s terrestrial wildlife program.
“This settlement agreement lays out a road map, along with other management actions by the USFWS, for the survival of red wolves in the wild,” said Kim Wheeler, executive director of Red Wolf Coalition. “It will take continued hard work and collaborative efforts, by all stakeholders, to build a solid foundation that will see red wolf restoration well into the future.”
See also
Source
- Historic Settlement Secures Conservation of Endangered Red Wolves in the Wild Animal Welfare Institute