| A CENTURY OF WOLF MANAGEMENT | |||
| Late 1800s | Wolf-livestock conflicts begin as human settlement extends into Southwestern gray wolf habitat. | ||
| 1900s-1970s | Private, state and federal extermination campaigns waged against Mexican gray wolves. | ||
| 1976 | Mexican gray wolf is functionally extinct in the wild; Mexican subspecies is listed under the ESA. Other gray wolf subspecies are listed during mid-70s as well. | ||
| 1977-1980 | FWS traps wolves in Mexico to begin captive breeding program; Mexican wolf recovery team established. | ||
| 1982 | Mexican gray wolf recovery plan issued, recommending interim objective of 100 self-sustaining wolves within the species' historic range. | ||
| 1978 | FWS lists entire gray wolf species as endangered in lower 48 states, except wolves in Minnesota, where they are listed as threatened. | ||
| 1997 | Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt signs environmental impact statement approving release of captive-reared Mexican wolves into the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area. | ||
| January 1998 | FWS issues final rule establishing "nonessential experimental" population of Mexican gray wolves in Arizona and New Mexico. | ||
| March 1998 | FWS releases 11 captive-reared Mexican gray wolves into Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area, on Arizona side of the border. Final rule prohibits direct releases into New Mexico, except for translocated animals. | ||
| March 1998 | New Mexico Cattle Growers Association et. al., file suit against FWS alleging violations of the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act and Administrative Procedures Act in authorizing and implementing the Mexican wolf reintroduction project. | ||
| 1999 | Federal court rules FWS complied with the law and dismisses the lawsuit. | ||
| 2003 | FWS reclassifies the gray wolf into three "distinct population segments." Mexican wolves maintain "nonessential" status and become part of the Southwestern Distinct Population Segment. | ||
| 2005 | Federal court vacates the 2003 reclassification rule and negates the three "distinct population segments," including the Southwestern DPS. Recovery planning for Mexican wolves is put on hold. | ||
| 2009 | FWS abandons its controversial "three strikes" rule, reverting to an older policy allowing the agency discretion over when to remove "problem" wolves from the wild. | ||
| 2010 | Latest Mexican wolf census counts 42 animals in the wild, down 19 percent from 2008 and the lowest figure since 2002. | ||
| Source: Fish and Wildlife Service. | |||
