A Tucson judge this week dismissed a broad challenge to the management of the Mexican Grey Wolf Recovery program. The judge in a 42-page decision dismissed claims the recovery plan was “arbitrary and capricious” and upheld the key points of dispute. A coalition of environmental groups had sued to overturn the key policies at the heart of the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Arizona Department of Game and Fish plan to reintroduce the endangered subspecies to Arizona and New Mexico. The decision coincided with the release of the quarterly report on the reintroduction effort. That report put the population at 286 wolves in the wild, an 11% increase in 2024. However, the quarterly report also documented an ongoing high mortality rate. Environmental groups led by the Center for Biological Diversity and others maintained wildlife managers should establish three separate populations of the wolves, including one north of I-40.