Progress Thus Far

In 1998, the first set of 11 Mexican gray wolves were released into the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area. At the time of release, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service projected a population growth to 102 wolves with 18 breeding pairs by the end of the 9th year (American Society of Mammologists 1573-1574). However, at the end of the 9th year, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported 59 wolves with 7 breeding pairs (American Society of Mammologists 1573-1574). In the latest collection in 2011, there was a population count of 58 Mexican gray wolves and 6 breeding pairs (Associated Press). 

("Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Program")

From the table above, I synthesized a graph to visually depict the progress made thus far in comparison to the progressed that was hoped to have been made. From the graph, it is obvious that the goals set were not matched by comparing the trendlines for both the expected and the observed with the naked eye. If you then look at the equations of the lines, you can see that the slope for the expected is more than three times as much as the slope for the expected. According to the equation of the expected trendline, there should have been over 160 Mexican gray wolves in the BRWRA, but there are only 58. It is disappointing to not achieve the goals set forth, however, that does not discredit the achievement that is present. Even if slower, the number of Mexican gray wolves has increased and that is progress in comparison to the 11 initially released 13 years prior. 

However, in order to produce a stable and sustainable population, the total wolf count needs to be significantly larger, up to 4 times as much with a large increase in breeding pair to continue promoting genetic diversity (Associated Press).