ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Federal scientists have released a long-awaited study sparked by concerns about impacts of furbearer trapping on Mexican gray wolves reintroduced in the Southwest.
Researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey conducted the study for the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish after former Gov. Bill Richardson issued an executive order last year banning trapping in the wolf recovery area in southwestern New Mexico.
State game commissioners recently voted to lift the ban.
Environmentalists were critical of the decision since the study had not yet been released to the public. They say two wolf deaths due to trapping since 1998 is enough to warrant a trapping ban.
New Mexico game officials argue that trapping incidents represent only a fraction of wolf injuries and mortalities compared to illegal shootings and vehicle collisions.
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