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U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Announces the Availability of the Red Wolf Five-year Review
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced today the completion and availability of the five-year status review of the red wolf. After reviewing all of the best scientific and commercially available information and data, the Service recommended that the current listing classification for the red wolf remain unchanged. This means the world’s only wild red wolf population, restored in North Carolina, continues to have non-essential, experimental status. Red wolves located at island propagation sites and in captive breeding facilities continue to have full endangered status. “Experimental status has meant success in red wolf restoration and in flexibility for landowners,” said Bud Fazio, team leader of the Service’s Red Wolf Recovery Program. “We thank all our partners for helping to make red wolf restoration successful. We particularly thank the landowners who work regularly with us to conserve red wolves in a balance that also conserves their own rural heritage and lifestyle.” Service biologists acknowledge that the wild red wolf population restored to North Carolina faces some challenges. Solutions are being sought to reduce levels of mortality caused by vehicle strikes and by gunshots. The good stewardship of hunters, landowners, and local communities can make a big difference in developing such solutions. “The Service’s five-year review also contains other recommendations for future actions aimed at continuing progress toward long-term recovery of red wolves. The five-year review and a list of Frequently Asked Questions are available online at http://www.fws.gov/southeast/5yearReviews/ for the Southeast Region headquarters. The review document is also posted at http://www.fws.gov/alligatorriver/redwolf.html on the red wolf web site for Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (ARNWR). A copy of the document may also be requested by email to Diane_Hendry@fws.gov, by fax at 252-473-4836, by telephone at 252-473-1131, ext.246, or by mail at Request for Copy of Five-Year-Review, Red Wolf Recovery Program, c/o Alligator River NWR, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Manteo, North Carolina 27954. Please include your name and street mailing address in your request. Additional facts and answers about red wolves can be found at the following three websites.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. Visit the Service’s website at http://www.fws.gov.
For more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, visit our home page at http://www.fws.gov/southeast or http://www.fws.gov/. NOTE: You can view our releases or subscribe to receive them -- via e-mail -- at the Service's Southeast Regional home page at http://www.fws.gov/southeast/news. Our national home page is at: http://news.fws.gov/newsreleases/. Atlanta, GA 30345, Phone: 404/679-7289 Fax: 404/679-7286 |
