North Carolina Lawmakers Push Bipartisan Resolution to Protect Endangered Red Wolves
RALEIGH, N.C. — In a rare show of bipartisan unity, U.S. Representatives Valerie Foushee (D-4th District) and Greg Murphy (R-3rd District) have introduced a joint resolution aimed at protecting North Carolina’s endangered red wolves, the only wild population of the species left in the world. According to NC Newsline, the measure calls for continued federal support of programs like wildlife corridors and conservation initiatives designed to aid in the wolves’ survival.
A Species on the Brink
North Carolina’s Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge on the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula is home to an estimated 15 wild red wolves, down from about 130 just over a decade ago. The North Carolina Wildlife Federation reports that the species’ population has plummeted by more than 85% in the 2010s.
Red wolves once roamed the entire Eastern Seaboard, from New York to Florida and as far west as Texas. Today, their survival is threatened by habitat loss, vehicle collisions, gunshot mortality, and hybridization with coyotes.
Congressional Support for Recovery Efforts
The resolution not only emphasizes the importance of protecting the existing wild population but also highlights the 270 captive red wolves housed in zoos and breeding facilities across the country. This network is part of a national recovery strategy that began decades ago.
In 1967, the red wolf was classified as “threatened with extinction” under the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966. The Red Wolf Recovery Program, established in 1973, achieved a historic milestone in 1987 when red wolves became the first carnivorous species reintroduced into the wild after being declared extinct there.
Lawmakers’ Call to Action
“It is imperative that we ensure that red wolves do not go extinct,” Foushee said in a statement, underscoring the urgency of preserving the last wild population. Murphy echoed her sentiment, stressing that with the species confined entirely to Eastern North Carolina, their protection is a matter of state and national importance.
Wildlife advocates hope that the resolution will secure long-term federal backing for conservation measures, ensuring that the species — once nearly lost — can have a sustainable future.
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