Big Lake Howliday Campout Weekend
July 29, 30, & 31, 2016

Join the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project for a fun-filled weekend learning about and celebrating the return of Mexican wolves to the wild. This year marks the 18 year anniversary of the first releases of Mexican wolves back into the wild in the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area.

Where: Apache Trout Campground Fir Group site at Big Lake in the Apache National Forest, Arizona.
When: Friday, July 29th, 2016 starting at 3:00 pm through Sunday, July 31th at noon.

Suggested Donation is $50 per person* (to help us cover the cost of the meals and the camp ground group site). Register for the event here. All activities during the weekend are free. Weekend registration is required through the registration form (see registration form below). *Please note that the suggested donation is cheaper than what it would cost to reserve a camp site and pay for food for a weekend trip on one’s own, but we may have some limited sponsorships available to help cover the costs for participants that may not be able to afford the suggested donation. Please contact info@gcwolfrecovery.org for more information.

Please bring your own personal camping equipment and comfortable clothes for hiking in and appropriate for high elevation weather during the Monsoon season.  Here is a list of Recommended Personal Camping Supplies to bring with you.

Meals included in the weekend for registered participants: Dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings, Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and a pack-your-own brown bag lunch spreads for lunches on Saturday and Sunday.  All the meals served will be vegetarian and we will make an effort to accommodate vegan, gluten-free diets, and food allergies that are indicated by filling out our registration form (registration form below). Please Bring Your Own Beverages of choice. Note there are strict orders from the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest on bear resistant food, trash, and personal hygiene product storage for the Big Lake area. Read the special order here, and be prepared to lock all food and personal hygiene items you bring with you in your vehicle.

Optional Weekend Activities include:
– morning bird walks
– wildlife tracking workshops with wildlife tracking experts
– a hike to the “Green Fire” site where Aldo Leopold had his epiphany about wolves
– hikes on the Paseo del Lobo trail
– Evening talks by a wolf conservationists and biologists

Sorry, no dogs are allowed (besides service dogs) to join us at the campground or on the activities at the Big Lake Campout Weekend. We are huge fans of companion dogs, but because we will be camping and hiking in areas occupied by Mexican wolf packs and other wildlife, we want to minimize our disturbance to the wolves and their new pups. Thank you for your understanding!

Please contact Emily at info@gcwolfrecovery.org or (928) 202-1325 if you have any questions.

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Time to Prepare for Winter Weather

Now is the time to prepare for snow, ice and strong winds. It is important to prepare since winter weather can cause power outages resulting in the loss of heat, water or communications to our homes and businesses. With the projected strong El Nino pattern for winter 2015-2016, we suggest that you check out – http://www.ready.gov/winter-weather for a list of ways to prepare.

Preparing for winter storms is similar to preparing for other emergencies like floods or wildfires. Following the three steps below, can help your family be prepared for most winter events.

Step 1: Make an emergency supply kit which includes items like non-perishable food, water, batteries, flashlights and a hand crank radio. Add the following items for winter: rock salt, sand, snow shovels and adequate clothing and blankets to keep you warm.

Step 2: Make a family emergency plan. You may not be with your family when a storm hits, so know how to contact one another.

Step 3: Make sure your home is well insulated and that you have weather stripping around your doors and windows. Insulate pipes with insulation or newspapers and plastic and allow faucets to drip a little during cold weather to help avoid freezing. Keep fire extinguishers on hand and make sure everyone in your family knows how to use it. House fires pose an additional risk as more people turn to alternate heating sources without taking the proper safety precautions.

Lastly, remember where to find storm updates. An excellent source for weather forecasts and weather warnings is http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/fgz/. You can dial 311 from any phone for updates from the Health Department, Emergency Management, Fire and Forest information. You can go online to 311info.net as well as watch the news or listen to the radio for weather updates. If you have any further questions please contact Apache County Public Health Service District, 928-333-6430.

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Speak up for wolves at September Commission Meetings and call US Fish and Wildlife Service

For years, scientists have warned that more Mexican gray wolves must be released into the wild to improve the wild population’s declining genetic health.

But Arizona’s and New Mexico’s state wildlife agencies are blocking the release of new wolves.

And the U.S. Fish and Wildlife is deferring  to these states that are clearly hostile to wolves, instead of exercising its federal authority to ensure the recovery of endangered Mexican gray wolves.

All three of these agencies need to hear from wolf advocates. And both states’ wildlife commissions have meetings this month, with Mexican gray wolves on the agenda.
Speak for wolves at the Arizona Game and Fish Commission meeting on Friday, September 4th.

Springerville Town Hall
418 E Main St
Springerville, AZ
Or by Video Teleconference from any regional office except Tucson

The meeting begins at 8 am. The wolf briefing is item 5 on the agenda.
Email info@mexicanwolves.org for more information.
The Arizona Game and Fish Commission has a long history of ignoring the best available science and interfering with recovery of these highly endangered animals, including blocking releases of new wolves into the wild, needed to boost the wolves’ declining genetic health, and asking Arizona members of Congress to remove the wolves’ Endangered Species Act protections.

The Commission also pressured the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to loosen restrictions on killing and trapping wolves, to keep wolves from key habitats north of I-40, and to limit the wolf population to a number far below what experts say is needed to reduce the risk of extinction. During the period from 2003 – 2009, when the Adaptive Management Oversight Committee (AMOC) led by Arizona Game and Fish managed the wolf reintroduction project, the wild population declined from 55 to only 42 wolves and 2 breeding pairs.

At their last meeting, the Commission went a step further to undermine wolf recovery, by voting to ban all releases of adult Mexican gray wolves from the 250 wolves in captivity.

You can call or email the members of the Arizona Game and Fish Commission using the talking points and contact information at the bottom of the post here. You can also sign the petition here.

Stand for wolves at the New Mexico Game Commission meeting in Albuquerque on Tuesday, September 29th.

Albuquerque, New Mexico
September 29, 2015
Embassy Suites
1000 Woodward Place NE
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Agenda item no. 7 is “Action to be Taken on United States Fish and Wildlife Service Appeal of the Denial of Application to Release Mexican Gray Wolves.” For more information, email info@mexicanwolves.org.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/cp/summer-of-science-2015/latest/predator

Looking at Humans as ‘Super Predators’

Great Old Broads event in Tucson! Come have some fun with a great group of  bros and broads

Come One and All (membership not required)
January 14, 2015, 6 – 8 p.m.

http://azwmcl.org//TUC%20bb-event-flyer-form.pdf

30-day Comment Period ends December 27, 2014 – YOU CAN HELP!

Advocates fear the extinction of the Mexican gray wolf, due to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposed changes to the federal rule governing the Mexican gray wolf reintroduction. More…find out what Broads are doing and how you can help…