Twenty-eight biologists, managers, and decision makers attended a Population Viability Assessment (PVA) Workshop at the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, Glen Rose, Texas on 22-24 October, 1990 to apply these recently developed procedures to the captive and wild populations and the reintroduction of the Mexican wolf. The Captive Breeding Specialist Group, the Canid and Wolf Specialist Groups of the IUCN/Species Survival Commission were asked to collaborate in this PVA workshop to assist the recovery effort. The purpose was to review data from the wild population as a basis for developing stochastic population simulation models.

These models estimate risk of extinction and rates of genetic loss from the interactions of demographic, genetic, and environmental factors as a tool for ongoing management of the subspecies. Other goals included determination of habitat requirements, population sizes, role of direct threats including killing by people as a factor in the decline of the species, potential role of indirect threats such as disease, and prioritized research needs.