FAR WEST TEXAS — This week, a nonprofit called the Texas Lobo Coalition launched a membership drive aiming to recruit 100 new members in 100 days. The group seeks nature lovers of all stripes — particularly those who live in and around wilderness areas in the Trans-Pecos — to help set the stage for the return of the Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi), a native species that was wiped out of the Lone Star State long ago.
The most recent iteration of the Lobo Coalition was founded in 2021, but Treasurer Rick LoBello has been advocating for Mexican wolves in Far West Texas since the mid-1970s, even though he’s never seen one in the wild. LoBello was on the front lines of a big shift in environmental consciousness and politics after the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973. Canis lupus baileyi was added to the list not long after — the last two wolves spotted in Texas were killed in Brewster County in 1970.
In 1978, LoBello was introduced to Roy McBride, a legendary trapper who was sent to Mexico by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for wolf specimens, in the hopes that captive breeding programs could one day return the species to its native range. LoBello was working as a ranger in Big Bend National Park at the time and got an invitation to see one of McBride’s captive wolves in the flesh. The experience was deeply moving, almost like coming face-to-face with a mythological creature. “I didn’t know that these wolves were still around,” he said. “I thought, ‘These animals should still be here.’”
While environmentalists have been working for the past five decades to advocate for predator species like wolves and mountain lions, they’ve historically faced opposition from ranchers, who stand to lose financially when wild animals feast on their livestock. LoBello eventually rose in the ranks at the park and became the head of the Big Bend Natural History Association. In that role he connected one-on-one with local landowners, spreading the word about the beauty and value of the Mexican wolf.
Some of those landowners were suspicious of the National Park Service, which they saw as the operators of a federally-subsidized buffet for apex predators, but local sensibilities didn’t stop LoBello. He became friends with Hallie Stillwell, a legendarily tough Brewster County rancher and justice of the peace. “Before she died, she told me, ‘I think I could love those animals,’” he remembered.
In the 1990s, the world of conservation biology saw something just short of a miracle take place in Big Bend: the black bear (Ursus americanus), considered eradicated from Texas, repopulated itself in the Chisos Mountains. LoBello thinks that lightning could strike twice with the Mexican wolf, which could come into Texas either from reintroduction programs in neighboring states or from south of the border. “The wolves could come back on their own as they continue to reproduce in the wild,” he said. “I mean, the border wall isn’t going to stop everything.”
Following LoBello’s lead, younger generations of conservationists have started advocating for their lupine neighbors. Hillary Pierce, a Marfa-based documentary filmmaker, explained that the Lobo Coalition’s goals are distinct from programs in New Mexico and Arizona that actively breed and reintroduce wolves into the wild. Instead, their goal is to spread awareness and bust myths so that wolves can thrive if they return on their own. “There’s a solid chance that it’s really only a matter of time before [Mexican wolves] disperse into West Texas,” she explained. “We want to welcome them, and we want them to live harmoniously with ranchers and town residents alike.”
Right now, the organization is in a formative stage, but will likely need volunteers in the coming months and years to assist with research projects and data gathering. They’d like for the effort to eventually be led by locals in the areas that the wolves are likely to repopulate. “We don’t want it to be an outside-in thing,” Pierce said. “Landowners are some of our best conservationists.”
One of the myths that Pierce has been battling is that Texans — who live in a state that’s over 90% privately-owned — are folks who don’t care about the natural world. “It’s an important part of our Texan identity to be stewards of the land and its wildlife,” she said. “I think the Lobo Coalition is in line with that.”
For more information about memberships, volunteer opportunities and to join the mailing list, visit https://texaslobocoalition.wordpress.com/donate/,