Public Service Announcement

From the Arizona Silver Belt:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agents recovered the body of a dead adult female Mexican gray wolf on Jan. 19, on State Highway 260, between Horseshoe Cienega Lake and A-1 Lake on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, near Pinetop. This wolf apparently died from a gunshot wound, and its body appeared to have been dumped alongside the highway. Its death is currently being investigated.

The area where F836 of the Moonshine Pack was discovered saw heavy use over the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, as a large number of people traveled Highway 260 between Pinetop and Springerville. If anyone saw a vehicle that was stopped, or was being driven slowly, between Horseshoe Cienega Lake and A-1 Lake, or has any information that could be helpful in finding the person(s) responsible for the death of this wolf, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Office of Law Enforcement at 928-339-4232 or the White Mountain Apache Tribe dispatch at 928-338-1023 or their Wildlife and Outdoor Recreation Division at 928-338-4385 ext. 231.

The Service and its partners are offering a monetary reward for information leading to the apprehension of individual(s) responsible for the death of this wolf. Persons reporting information may be kept anonymous.

There's big money in turning in one of these poachers, too. Information leading to convictions totals $52K.

From an article in the Albuquerque Journal (subscription only, sorry), it appears the Gila Livestock Growers might have some information:

Laura Schneberger, head of the Gila Livestock Growers Association, wrote in an e-mail: "Illegal shootings are the result of not removing seriously problem wolves and a lot of conflict that was completely unmanaged."

Ms. Schneburger seems to have gotten inside the heads of the poachers with this little tidbit. Interesting.