Paul Gosar

A House committee has advanced a bill to remove Mexican gray wolves from the endangered species list.

Conservationists argue delisting the species would almost certainly lead to its extinction.

The wolf population has not yet reached the recovery goal needed under the Endangered Species Act.

A House committee has endorsed a bill that would remove Mexican gray wolves from the endangered species list, long a goal of critics who say the wolf is a menace to residents of Arizona and New Mexico.

The measure was reported out of the House Natural Resources Committee Jan. 22. Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar, a Republican, introduced the bill, known as the “Enhancing Safety for Animals Act,” H.R. 4255, to delist the species last summer. With the committee's vote, the measure will move to the House floor.

“Since being reintroduced to the wild in Arizona, Mexican wolves have preyed on cattle, livestock, and even family pets, causing significant financial losses and economic hardship on family-run ranches,” Gosar said in a news release.

Mexican wolf attacks on livestock have been on a downward trend since 2022, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports.

Michael Robinson, a senior conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, called the bill "very bad news for the wolves." Delisting would remove existing prohibitions on killing the wolves. “If it becomes law, it would almost certainly ensure the extinction of the Mexican wolf.”

The genetically distinct wolves were listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1976 after they nearly went extinct in the wild. In the 1970s biologists corralled seven remaining wolves and established a breeding program. Today, all Mexican grays are the descendants of those seven.

In 2024, government officials reported 286 wolves. But the population still hasn’t reached 320 — what it would need to be considered for downlisting under the ESA.

Delisting the wolf is 'a false solution,' lawmaker says

Gosar’s bill speaks to the age-old tensions between wolves and ranchers. But wildlife biologists and advocates say that it will prematurely remove a species that is nowhere near recovery, and remove federal support that compensates ranchers for livestock losses.

“Delisting of the Mexican gray wolf is a false solution,” said Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., who voted against the bill.

In Arizona, a state that relies on federal funding from the ESA for the majority of its wolf operations, the bill would significantly impact recovery efforts. But legislators at the state level are also taking aim at wolves.

Arizona Rep. Lupe Diaz, a Republican from Cochise County, proposed three bills this year that would make Mexican wolves fair game, including a bill that directs the Arizona Game and Fish Department to grant permits to landowners allowing them to kill wolves on private land and for sport hunting. Wolf depredation in Cochise County last summer resulted in the relocation of a pack from southern Arizona to captivity in New Mexico.

In the meantime, a stall in federal ESA funds is complicating wolf recovery efforts. Every year, the Arizona Game and Fish Department, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service use the funding to coordinate an aerial wolf survey by helicopter.

But so far, that money hasn’t come.

“The helicopter work was canceled,” said Jim deVos, the Mexican Wolf Coordinator for AZGFD. “At least temporarily. That was a decision made at the Washington D.C. level. We're uncertain whether it will be implemented again with federal funding.”

Funding lapse slows work

The annual survey is when the agencies do population counts, collaring and welfare checks, deVos said. Instead, this year they’ve had to conduct a less efficient count by foot and car rather than by helicopter.

”Part of the issue is with the new federal administration, there are new requirements for review,” deVos said. “We're kind of stuck in that review phase right now.” He expects the ESA funding to come soon.

“We don’t want a lack of funding to be the thing that determines the success for the Mexican gray wolf recovery program,” said Greta Anderson, the deputy director of Western Watersheds Project. “If we are undermining recovery through funding, that’s a problem.”

Collars are one of the agencies’ most useful tools for monitoring the wolves, deVos said. In the case of depredation events, when a wolf attacks livestock, the collars help AZGFD locate them and scare them off — what he calls condition aversion.

The collars also come in handy during foster season, which is quickly approaching. During the foster season, officials move captive pups into existing litters where they can be mothered by wild wolves. The captive breeding program helps support the species’ genetic diversity, according to the department.

”Those are two of the really important reasons why we want to put collars on. If we don't get that done, it will have an impact on the project,” deVos said.

Sarah Henry covers environmental issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to [email protected].

Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.