AZ Daily Sun (original) Posted: Saturday, August 22, 2009 10:00 pm
To the editor:
The Aug. 13 Daily Sun article, "Wolf release in Mexico sparks concern," was in fact some very good news in the struggle to bring the endangered Mexican gray wolf back from near extinction. With only 52 of these imperiled carnivores living in the Arizona/New Mexico wilderness at the beginning of 2009, Mexico's plan to begin releasing the wolves in Sonora state later this year is welcome news indeed.
This news was not welcomed by all though. According to an article published in the Albuquerque Journal on Aug. 12, Caren Cowan, executive director of the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association, expressed fear about the wolves traveling across the border into the U.S. "We've talked about concerns about the U.S government releasing wolves on citizens. Now we have a foreign government releasing a predator on U.S. citizens," he said.
Perhaps Mr. Cowan's fears will be eased to learn that in the 11 years since the first Mexican wolves were released in Arizona and New Mexico, there have been no wolf attacks (or even nips) on any of our citizens. In fact, all the evidence to date indicates that the Mexican wolves prefer to feast on ungulates such as deer and elk rather than the citizens of our fair states.
STEVE ROBINSON
Flagstaff
