Conservation groups plan to sue federal and state agencies if they don’t halt efforts to relocate several Mexican gray wolves living northwest of Flagstaff.
The wolves — known as the Kendrick Peak pack — have been seen in the area near the Grand Canyon since at least June.
Recovery plans for the endangered animals outline that wolves reintroduced by wildlife managers should not live north of Interstate 40. Historically, any that passed the boundary have been captured and relocated south.
However, the Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watersheds Project and the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project argue the Arizona Game and Fish Department and USDA’s Wildlife Services don’t have the proper permission to trap or move the Kendrick Peak pack as they don’t know their origins. They also allege doing so would violate the Endangered Species Act trapping ban.
“These tenacious Mexican wolves belong right where they are, so we’re putting wildlife officials on notice that they’ll be breaking the law if they try to relocate them,” Michael Robinson, senior conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, said. “Instead of trapping and removing the Kendrick Peak pack, state and federal officials should be doing everything they can to ensure that Mexican wolves recover.”
The Endangered Species Act requires a written notice of the violation as a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit. In a statement, the conservation groups say they will take legal action if the feds don't comply.