2/24/2000 737

SW WOLVES NEED HELP: PLEASE ATTEND PUBLIC HEARINGS, SEND EMAILS, LETTERS TODAY

Following a plan developed by the Center over a year ago, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is poised to reintroduce endangered Mexican gray wolves into the Gila Wilderness on the Gila National Forest in southwest New Mexico. The Gila's vast network of remote, roadless country -- much of it without livestock -- will provide a safe haven for wolves which have been shot, threatened, and sued since being reintroduced to the wild last year. The livestock industry is pulling out all the stops to pressure the feds into abandoning the reintroduction program. We need your help today to save the Mexican gray wolf:

CARPOOL TO THE HEARINGS
Public hearings are being held in Reserve, NM (March 1st) and Silver
City, NM (March 2nd). Car pool rides are available from Phoenix,
Tucson, Flagstaff, Albuquerque, Socorro, and Las Cruces: Please call
520.623.5252 x 303 to catch a ride or find out more.

SEND EMAILS SUPPORTING WOLVES TODAY
This link will take you to our web page where you can easily send
an email message to the Fish & Wildlife Service supporting the
release of wolves into the Gila Wilderness.
http://www.sw-center.org/swcbd/activist/wolfaction2.html

SEND A LETTER: The deadline for written comments is 3-15-00

Mexican Wolf Recovery Coordinator
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
P.O. Box 1306
Albuquerque, NM 87103
fax: 505.248.6922

Correction to earlier wolf post: the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is NOT trying to capture the Gavilan pack yearling which escaped to the Gila National Forest on his own.