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Greetings!
Thank you for reading these important updates. We appreciate your support as we educate, advocate and participate on behalf of wolves.
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Message from Our Southwest Regional Director Daniel Sayre
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It is a critical time for Mexican gray wolves. With so few in the wild, and with the resistance of some who oppose or are unsure about the reintroduction effort, it is of utmost importance to educate the public about them. Alan Lacy is attempting to do just that by producing a film highlighting the plight of lobos and the challenges faced by the program.
We hope you will share our hope that by supporting  such a project we may secure a more certain future for lobos in the Southwest. Please take a moment to read the guest column written by Alan Lacy.
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Hello everyone, let me start off by first introducing myself. My name is Alan Lacy, and I am producing a film on a very little known species of wolf referred to as
Canis lupus baileyi, or more commonly: The Mexican gray wolf. Like all wolves, this species was hunted and exterminated from the landscape during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in fact this
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Alan Lacy
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particular species nearly went extinct. They came within seven individual animals (only one was female), from extinction. After being reintroduced to the Southwestern United States and Mexico, this species is making a comeback. This film, titled Gray Area: Wolves of the Southwest will highlight the plight of this critically endangered wolf.
The idea to produce a film on the Mexican wolf began 3 years ago. I wanted to take action in some way to help this species in its recovery back to the landscape. Since I do not have a biology background, I wasn't able to be a biologist for obvious reasons. However I still felt called to do something. This is when the idea of creating a film began. Growing up, I watched countless documentaries on PBS Nature and many of the other networks which impacted me greatly. I believe in the power of film to make a difference in the world today, and believe it can and will make a difference for the Mexican wolf.
This film has been a labor of love from the beginning. I have spent countless hours developing this project, and it hasn't been an easy process. However I am dedicated to this film, as I believe it will make a difference for the Lobo. I began this project with zero knowledge on how to even go about producing a film. Thanks to several contacts I made early on, I acquired the professional talents of filmmaker Dean Cannon of Cannon Pictures. He has filmed for clients such as PBS Nature, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and BBC One just to name a few. His experience and knowledge is immeasurable, and has taken this production to a whole new level. Together we hoping to get an eventual broadcast to reach an even greater number of people to generate more awareness for this species.
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Earlier this year, we began filming in the Mexican Wolf Recovery Area in both Eastern Arizona and Western New Mexico. The area isn't what most people would think of Arizona or New Mexico looking like. In some areas there are  large open meadows surrounded by towering pines and fir trees with dense groves of aspen, and in others areas the common deep canyons with rivers running through them dotted with juniper and pinion pine. It truly embraces the wide open spaces of the west, and it also comes with the same sentiments that won the west many years ago.
We wanted to dive deep into the issues currently surrounding wolf recovery in the Southwest. We interviewed a wide spectrum of people covering both sides of the wolf conflict in an attempt to find out what Mexican wolf recovery is all about. We believe that the answer to a true recovery of the lobo is somewhere in middle of this conflict, but we  discovered an immediate gray area to this story. One of the key concepts we discovered is that the wolf has become a victim, caught in the middle of two competing visions for the future of the west. Therefore, we aim to focus our story on the lobo, the management towards recovery, and what recovery means for those on both sides of this issue.
Our next trip into the recovery area, we aim to film Mexican wolves in the wild. This is going to be a HUGE challenge! On  our last trip, we actually saw two wolves testing several elk, running alongside them across a meadow and the road ahead of us. It happened so quick, we were unable to actually get any footage. We also heard several howling on both sides of us one morning but never saw them. That was an incredible experience hearing the entire pack howling all around us. Yet no visual. We do however have a plan when we return to film them.
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We are going to need a lot of help though in getting there. So far, everything we have filmed and accomplished has been done thanks to the generous donations of many people across the country and from around the world. We have reached a point where we cannot go any further without more help. Support from the community is the backbone to this film project, and also empowers you to get involved with  Mexican wolf recovery in small way. To film wolves in the wild it is going to take a significant amount of time in the field, as well as the equipment and resources required to capture the footage we are hoping for. Our hope is that by capturing footage of these wolves in the wild, many people will see their true behavior and we can teach them about the wolf. Producing a film is a lot of work, yet I am determined to do
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Tracks!
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what I can for Mexican wolves. If you would like to support us, we have several great opportunities for you to do so. We have a wide range of donation levels beginning at literally $1 and they go up from there. To help us with fundraising, the Wolf Education and Research Center (a 501c3 non-profit organization), has agreed to help us by accepting donations from individuals wanting to take advantage of the great tax-benefits. We both want to see the Mexican wolf recovered.
For us to return to the recovery area, we are going to have flight expenses, lodging, food, camera/gear packages to rent, vehicle expenses, filming permits, and equipment that will be necessary for our next shoot. It all adds up quickly, and we have gone as far as we can on our own. We need your backing. We will need a minimum of $25,000 for our next film shoot this summer, and another $25,000 to complete the film by April of 2015. By supporting this film, you will help create more awareness for this critically endangered species.
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To donate to the film, please visit the Indiegogo campaign by clicking here and selecting your perk before August 7 CONTRIBUTE NOW!
If you are interested in learning more about the film, you can do so by visiting our website at: www.thelastpack.org, or by following us on www.facebook.com/thelastpack and www.twitter.com/TheLastPack.
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501(c)(3) nonprofit, all volunteer organization
Our mission:
We 'educate, advocate, and participate' for the long term recovery and preservation of wolves based on the best available science and the principles of democracy. We:
- Educate the public about the important role that wolves play in maintaining healthy ecosystems
- Inform the public about challenges to wolf recovery
- Support measures that promote peaceful coexistence with wolves on the landscape
- Educate the public about the issues in all regions and ways it can effectively participate in the democratic process to promote science-based decision-making about wolves.
All donations, no matter the amount, will be appreciated because they will enable us to:
- Provide educational programs, materials and events
- Participate in conferences, seminars, and consultation with other professionals in the fields of wolf biology, research, conservation, eco-tourism and environmental law.
- Secure a Wolfwatcher Legal Fund to sustain potential engagement in litigation that challenges local, state and/or federal policies that affect wolf preservation.
To donate online, please click on the Donate button at the top. To donate by check or money order, please send your donation to our business office at: National Wolfwatcher Coalition, PO Box 161281, Duluth, MN 55816-1281
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