HOUSE MEMORIAL 66

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015

INTRODUCED BY

Alonzo Baldonado

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE GOVERNOR TO FORMALLY ENGAGE AND REQUEST THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR TO DEVELOP A RECOVERY PLAN IN 2015 FOR MEXICAN WOLVES AND TO ESTABLISH A FUND TO REIMBURSE LIVESTOCK OWNERS FOR LOSSES CAUSED BY WOLVES.

     WHEREAS, the livestock industry in New Mexico contributed one billion seven hundred fifty million dollars ($1,750,000,000) in 2012 to the state's economy; and

     WHEREAS, the hunting industry in New Mexico contributes about three hundred forty-five million dollars ($345,000,000) annually to the state's economy; and

     WHEREAS, more than fourteen thousand New Mexicans are directly employed by the livestock industry in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, nearly five thousand New Mexicans are directly employed by the hunting industry in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, the United States fish and wildlife service has implemented a Mexican wolf introduction program in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, the United States fish and wildlife service recently enacted a new law regarding Mexican wolves that greatly expands the area in New Mexico where wolves will be released and new wolf packs will be established; and

     WHEREAS, Mexican wolf depredation and failed federal interdiction policies have caused enormous economic harm to the livestock industry and local communities in southwestern New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, wolf introduction efforts elsewhere in the United States have led to similar effects on the livestock industry and caused drastic decreases in wild deer and elk populations while wolf populations increased; and

     WHEREAS, expanding Mexican wolf populations threaten to drastically reduce wild ungulate populations, which would lead to reduced hunting license sales and associated jobs, as documented in the northern Rocky mountains; and

     WHEREAS, the federal government has failed to adequately analyze the potential future negative environmental and economic impacts of the revised federal Mexican wolf introduction program; and

     WHEREAS, the congressionally mandated goal of delisting Mexican wolves from the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 is currently impossible, as there are no rangewide population objectives for Mexican wolves that have been publicly or scientifically vetted, and the federal government has failed to complete the lawfully required recovery plan;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the governor be requested to formally engage the United States department of the interior and request the United States fish and wildlife service to complete the lawfully required recovery plan for Mexican wolves by December 2015 and request the department of the interior to prioritize adequate funding for a meaningful compensation fund to offset livestock losses by Mexican wolves in New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the United States secretary of the interior and to the governor.

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