Pioneering naturalist Aldo Leopold once wrote with regret about watching "the fierce green fire" dying in the eyes of a Mexican wolf he shot during his early days in Arizona. A government-sponsored campaign eventually eliminated the Mexican wolf from the American southwest. But that green fire returned to the wilds of Arizona early this spring when the first group of captive-bred Mexican wolves was released. Their return helps to mark 1998 as the 25th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act. Across the country, other rare species, such as California condors, southeastern fishes, and unusual Hawaiian plants, are also being reintroduced to the wild. The road to recovery is seldom straightforward or easy, but with patience and the necessary resources, there is hope.

For more information, see the USFWS Endangered Species Bulletin on the web.