Are you my mother? Wolf pups settle into new packs

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'Are you my mother?' Wolf pups settle into new packs

We've written a lot about the work to reintroduce Mexican gray wolves to the Arizona and New Mexico landscapes, returning a species that was all but extinct 50 years ago. Because it all started with seven wolves, biologists have sought ways to bring in new blood, usually by releasing captive-born adult animals into the wild.

In more recent years, state and federal wildlife agencies have begun placing captive-born wolf pups into dens with a female wolf and her own pups. The hope is the female will accept the pups into a pack .

On a recent Thursday, biologists took the 100th foster pup to a den in eastern Arizona. The Republic's Hayleigh Evans and Mark Henle went along for a story that you'll be able to read on azcentral later this week. Today, Hayleigh offers a few behind-the-scenes moments from Springerville:

A 'significant milestone' for wolf recovery

LAST THURSDAY, I STOOD OUTSIDE the Springerville Municipal Airport watching a small private plane land on the windy runway. Instead of waiting for some celebrity or billionaire to emerge, Springerville’s flying VIPs exited the plane in a Delta pet carrier bag.

Photojournalist Mark Henle and I followed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Arizona Game and Fish Department staff back inside the airport and watched them unload the plane’s adorable live cargo: five endangered Mexican wolf pups, barely a week old.

Although the pups weren’t even strong enough to open their eyes, in a few months' time they’d be out in the wild, taking down elk and other big game in Arizona’s White Mountains.

The five pups were born at the Living Desert Zoo in Carlsbad, New Mexico, bred for their parent’s valuable genetics to help diversify the wild Mexican gray wolf population’s gene pool. One of the male pups would become the 100th captive-born pup fostered into the wild, a significant milestone in Mexican gray wolf recovery.

“Genetics is a concern for the program because every wolf that is in the wild or in captivity came from a founding stock of seven individuals,” said Brady McGee, the Mexican wolf coordinator for USFWS. “We are trying to maximize genetics as much as possible so that there are no detrimental side effects from inbreeding.”

In the span of seven hours, these pups flew over state lines, passed from team to team and were hiked up a mountain to join the Prime Canyon and Elk Horn wolf packs, two of the 23 wolf packs roaming Arizona.

Watch for my story later this week to learn more about these pups' journey into the wild and the organized chaos they left in their wake. — Hayleigh Evans

Endangered species: Are Mexican gray wolves closer to recovery 25 years after they were returned to the wild?

Fighting (future) fire with (prescribed) fire

They're a little smaller than ping pong balls and resemble fishing bobbers. They hold a powdered chemical that reacts when combined with glycol antifreeze. And for a while last week, they were dropped from a helicopter over the forest outside Payson, raining actual balls of fire.

The goal is to treat about 5,500 acres of overgrown pine trees and junipers in the Tonto National Forest in advance of the 2024 wildfire season. The helicopter used to ignite the controlled burns will also be available to battle wildfires this year from a new base in Star Valley. The Republic's Brandon Loomis and Mark Henle got a look at the chopper and a chance to watch the helitack crew at work.

Danny Whatley , fire management officer for the Payson Ranger District, told Brandon that, with the new base, Central Arizona will be well served in the coming fire season.

“We have more space to do the work that needs to be done, especially during a wildfire,” he said.

The areas targeted for prescribed burns last week were within the footprint of the Four Forest Restoration Initiative , a long-term effort to improve forest health and reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires in the pine forests. Crews had already started treating areas near Payson with the help of Salt River Project, which relies on the watershed for runoff into its reservoirs.

Forest health: Helicopter crew rains fireballs over Tonto National Forest to prep for wildfire season

Tell us your '5 C's' stories

Las week, climate reporter Joan Meiners introduced a project we're working on that will look at Arizona's iconic 5 C's — cattle, citrus, climate, copper and cotton — and, as Joan wrote, "assess and explain how and why they have changed and what that says about the state’s past, present and future."

What we're finding, as you might guess, is that none of the 5 C's have disappeared. We still grow citrus and cotton, still graze cattle, still mine for copper and while the climate is changing, it continues to play a role in how we live here, even as it alters the other 4 C's.

Many long-time Arizonans have heard about the 5 C's since their school days, and more recent transplants are more familiar with the five than they might realize, which is why we'd like to hear from you for our project.

If you have thoughts or a story to share about your experience with any or all of the 5 C’s, please consider taking our short (5 minute) survey here . If you leave us contact information, we may follow up to learn more and may feature your responses as part of our story series.

We hope to hear from you soon.

Why I do this: Trilce Estrada Olvera

Nina Pulliam Environment Fellow Trilce Estrada Olvera writes this week about her work covering the environment in Arizona:

WHEN REPORTING ON my first story for The Arizona Republic, I hesitated to cover Arizona's canal water conservancy. Despite questioning whether readers would be interested or if my editor would share my enthusiasm, I delved into the investigation, fueled by my passion for learning. Upon its online publication , I was pleased with the outcome as it conveyed the importance of canal maintenance for having clean water, which is essential for ensuring the health and well-being of communities and ecosystems.

The story's appearance on the print newspaper's front page boosted my confidence. However, it was a reader's heartfelt letter that truly made me feel like my efforts were worth it, reminding me of the power of storytelling in raising environmental awareness and fostering community engagement. This experience reaffirmed my commitment to journalism and highlighted the bond between reporters and their audience in caring for the environment.

The Phoenix canals: Herding fish? That's how SRP's annual canal cleanup starts. Here's where it goes next

That's it for today. May the Fourth be with you this week and always, and thanks for subscribing to AZ Climate, the Arizona Republic's weekly environment newsletter. We hope you'll consider forwarding it to others who may like it. If someone sent this to you, sign up to get it every week .

Environmental coverage in The Republic and on azcentral is supported by the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust . You can show your own support for environmental journalism in Arizona by subscribing to azcentral .

Now here's some of our recent work:

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Are you my mother? Wolf pups settle into new packs