![]() ![]() ![]() For many wolf biologists and advocates, it's become a major barrier to Mexican wolf recovery.Įmily Renn, executive director at the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project, a non-profit organization based in Flagstaff, has been a champion of expanding recovery areas for Mexican wolves since 2009. It drives local economies and serves as a major corridor for travelers. On average, over 20,000 vehicles traverse its route every day. It designated the interstate as the northern limit of the Mexican Wolf Recovery Area and state agencies have vigorously enforced that border.īuilt in 1957, I-40 divides the northern third of Arizona and New Mexico. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the federal agency responsible for managing endangered species like the Mexican wolf. Wolf country: Anubis, a Mexican gray wolf, is relocated amid outcry from scientists, advocates The origins of the I-40 boundary But unbeknownst to traveling wolves, once they cross I-40, they've entered a no-wolf zone. Combined, the area is over 8 million acres of national forest and is part of the largest ponderosa pine forest in the world.įor Anubis, and wolves like him, the area is a vast expanse of potential habitat, the most ideal habitat for hundreds of miles. ![]() It connects to the northern end of Kaibab National Forest via Grand Canyon National Park. It includes the southern portion of the Kaibab National Forest, the Apache–Sitgreaves National Forests in eastern Arizona and the Gila National Forest in western New Mexico. The area is neatly tucked into a large stretch of wilderness that stretches from New Mexico up through Arizona to the Utah border. The Coconino National Forest - sparsely populated, rich with elk, and lacking competition with other male wolves - is an ideal landing pad for a wolf. They tried to capture the wolf using a helicopter, but that tactic proved difficult in the area, which is heavily forested. After that failed, they decided he needed to be removed. At first, wildlife managers tried to scare the wolf off, away from the area. The wolf's penchant for lingering near to what deVos refers to as developments was cause for alarm. The managing agencies recorded the wolf crossing I-40 four times and Arizona Route 180, north of I-40, even more frequently. Anubis, the name given to M2520 by a group of seventh-graders, stayed his course, roaming the Coconino National Forest, often meandering between Flagstaff and Williams, towns dotted with vacation homes and ranches. Often, wolves stray north of the major thoroughfare only to turn around and head back toward the core recovery area. In Arizona, the four-lane interstate runs from New Mexico, through Winslow and Flagstaff across to Kingman all the way to the California border. When the wolf initially crossed north of Interstate 40, according to deVos, the Game and Fish Department decided to wait and see what happens. The animal's movements caught the attention of not just deVos, but federal agents, conservation groups and hordes of wolf enthusiasts. In May, a ping from a collar strapped around the neck of one young male wolf caught his attention. The wolf, known to the Arizona Game and Fish Department as M2520, had started wandering north from the designated Mexican wolf recovery area. Each device emits a ping twice daily, which deVos receives at his home office in Prescott. View Gallery: Mexican gray wolf pups releasedĪs the state lead for the Mexican gray wolf recovery program, Jim deVos monitors the tracking collars of wolves roaming Arizona's high country. ![]()
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