The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has begun a scoping process to gather input on potential modifications to its rule that established a reintroduction program for the Mexican gray wolf. The Service established a nonessential, experimental population of the Mexican gray wolf in 1998, and has introduced more than 90 wolves into Arizona and New Mexico.
"We have been reintroducing wolves into the wild for nine years now and weve learned a thing or two," said Brian Millsap of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "We want to hear from everyone else on what they have learned and what their recommendations are for recovering the Mexican wolf. Weve set the meetings up to facilitate conversations. The website mirrors the meetings as much as possible so those who cant be with us can join in on the website at www.mexicanwolfeis.org.
The scoping process will include 12 open-house meetings. Participants may attend any time during the meeting at their convenience. The meetings will include:
- Informational materials about the Mexican gray wolf reintroduction program
- A continuous overview presentation for participants to watch at their convenience
- One-on-one opportunities to provide information to Adaptive Management Oversight Committee (AMOC) representatives and agencies staff, and ask them questions about the rule change and EIS process. Questions about the process will be answered, but issues will not be debated.
- Comment cards for participants to submit written comments during the meeting, or during the comment period which ends December 31, 2007
The Monday through Friday sessions will run from 5 to 9 p.m. and Saturday meetings will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Participants are welcome any time during those time periods.
Meetings will be held in the following locations. Directions are located at www.mexicanwolfeis.org.
- Monday, Nov. 26: Flagstaff, Ariz., Grand Ballroom, Radisson Woodlands Hotel-Flagstaff, 1175 W Route 66, Flagstaff, Ariz. 86001
- Tuesday, Nov. 27: Hon-Dah, Ariz., Multipurpose Room, McNary School, 108 N. Pollack Ave., McNary, Ariz. 85930
- Wednesday, Nov. 28: Alpine, Ariz., Alpine Community Center, Alpine Chamber of Commerce, #12 CR 2052, Alpine, Ariz. 85920
- Thursday, Nov. 29: Grants, N.M., Ballroom, Best Western, 1501 East Santa Fe Ave.
- l0 level1 lfo2 Grants, N.M. 87020
- Friday, Nov. 30: Albuquerque, N.M., Special Events Building, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, 2401 12th St. NW, Albuquerque, N.M. 87104
- Saturday, Dec.1: Socorro, N.M., Macey Conference Center Lobby/Foyer, New Mexico Tech, 801 Leroy Pl, Socorro, N.M. 87801
- Monday, Dec. 3: Alamogordo, N.M., Tays Special Events Center, New Mexico State University, 2400 N Scenic Dr., Alamogordo, N.M. 88310
- Tuesday, Dec. 4: Las Cruces, N.M., Tortugas Ballroom, Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, 4100 Dripping Springs Rd., Las Cruces, N.M. 88011
- Wednesday, Dec. 5: Glenwood, N.M., Glenwood Community Center, Mengas Ln., Glenwood, N.M. 88039
- Thursday, Dec. 6: Safford, Ariz., Open Dining Room at the Activities Center, Eastern Arizona College, 1014 N College Ave., Thatcher, Ariz. 85552
- l0 level1 lfo2 Friday, Dec. 7: Tucson, Ariz. Student Union Memorial Center (Tucson and Catalina Rooms), University of Arizona, 1303 E. University Blvd, Tucson, Ariz. 85721
- Saturday, Dec. 8: Phoenix, Ariz., Garnet, Emerald, and Sapphire Rms., Glendale Civic Center, 5750 West Glenn Dr., Glendale, Ariz. 85301
Those requiring assistance under the Americans with Disabilities Act must contact Charna Lefton, 505-248-6911 or by electronic mail to Charna_Lefton@fws.gov at least three days prior to the meeting they plan to attend. Persons who use a telecommunications service for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at (800) 877-8339, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Service published a Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Socio-Economic Assessment for the Proposed Amendment of the Rule Establishing a Nonessential Experimental Population of the Mexican Wolf in Arizona and New Mexico on August 7 in the Federal Register. All comments received from then until the end of year will be used to prepare a draft proposed rule, a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and a Socio-Economic Assessment. Once drafted, those documents will go through a public review process. A second set of public meetings will then be held in a meeting format where members of the public may stand and deliver their opinions and views.
"Modifying a federal rule starts with finding out what the community thinks," said Millsap. "This part of the process is called scoping. From here we consolidate the comments and advice and come up with different alternatives which will be publicly vetted."
Through this notice and the public scoping meetings, comments or suggestions are sought from the public, concerned government agencies, tribes, the scientific community, industry, ranchers, landowners and any other interested parties concerning pertinent issues that should be addressed and alternatives that should be analyzed. The Service will take into consideration all comments and any additional information received while developing a draft Environmental Impact Statement. All written comments, including names and addresses, become part of the supporting record and will be made public.
The notice can be found on the web at http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/. Submit written comments directly to the Services New Mexico Ecological Services Field Office on or before Dec. 31, 2007 or at any of the 12 scoping meetings listed above. Send comments to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Attn: Wolf Program, New Mexico Ecological Service Field Office, 2105 Osuna NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87113. Written comments may be faxed to (505) 346-2542 or e-mailed to R2FWE_AL@fws.gov. Guidance on sending comments is in the notice.
The information provided at the scoping meetings, as well as an opportunity to provide written comments, will be available on the Mexican Wolf EIS website, www.mexicanwolfeis.org.
Questions regarding the scoping process or development of a proposed rule amending the 1998 10(j) Final Rule should be directed to John Slown at (505) 761-4782.
