"ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Prompted by a court order, federal wildlife managers have issued a new draft plan for managing Mexican gray wolves in the Southwestern U.S. in an effort to address illegal killings of the endangered predators.

The plan calls for millions of dollars to be spent over the coming decades on more education, outreach, increased law enforcement patrols and other projects to boost the wolf population across its historic range in Arizona, New Mexico and in Mexico.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently reported that Mexican wolves saw their numbers increase for another consecutive year but that overall growth of the population has been tempered in part by human-caused mortalities, which include illegal killings and being struck by vehicles."

Susan Montoya Bryan reports for the Associated Press April 19, 2022. [2]