Red wolf plan delayed
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that only 17-19 red wolves live in the wild, with 235 in captivity. USFWS photo
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is delaying the publication of the final revised red wolf recovery plan, which courts had ordered to be released by Feb. 28. That deadline has been extended to Sept. 29.
The delayed publication is expected to ensure the USFWS can use the results of a forthcoming Population Viability Analysis for informing the final revised recovery plan for the red wolf. That analysis is expected to be complete in June.
In 1982, the Service completed the first Red Wolf Recovery Plan; revisions were issued in 1984 and in 1990. In September 2022, the Service published a draft revised recovery plan for the red wolf that was produced by the Red Wolf Recovery Team collaborative partnership. The plan incorporated the current status of the species and new information gathered over the last three decades. It was made available for public comment for 30 days.
According to the USFWS, the ultimate goals of red wolf recovery are to ensure that: (1) red wolves coexist with humans in multiple wild, free and viable populations across the historic range; (2) threats are managed through conservation activities and alignment of conservation policy; and (3) increased public trust and community engagement are realized. When recovery of the species is achieved, the Service will consider removing it from the federal list of endangered and threatened wildlife and turn its management over to the appropriate states and tribes.
