Dec. 2, 2013

PINETOP, Ariz. -- On Tuesday, Dec. 3, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) will hold an information meeting and public hearing on two proposed rules -- one to list the Mexican wolf as an endangered subspecies and delist the gray wolf elsewhere, and the other to revise the Nonessential Experimental Population of the Mexican wolf.

The information meeting and hearing will be held at the Hon-Dah Conference Center, 777 Highway 260 (3 miles outside of Pinetop at the junction of Hwy 260 and Hwy 73). The public information meeting is from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. (doors open at 3 p.m.), followed by a public hearing for recording comments from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

According to a USFWS news bulletin, registration to provide oral comments at the evening hearing will be accepted during the 3 p.m. registration for the information meeting and continue until 5:45 p.m. With the exception of elected officials, all oral comment registration cards will be pooled and will be drawn at random. This process was implemented to encourage attendance at the afternoon information meeting and to provide for a fair process that allows USFWS to receive oral testimony from as many different perspectives as possible during the evening public hearing.

The comment period will remain open through Dec. 17, 2013.

To learn more about the proposed rules, view the draft Federal Register notice with the details of the public hearings, and for links to submit comments to the public record, visit www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/.