Local Opinion: Mexican gray wolves deserve protection

The Mexican gray wolf once freely roamed the Southwest in the thousands for centuries before they were almost exterminated by the 1970’s. As a result, the Mexican gray wolf has been legally protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) since 1976 and was reintroduced into Arizona and New Mexico in the late 90’s.

Today, there are fewer than 200 of these wolves in the wild.

Their survival is a delicate balance between wolf-advocacy groups, who want more of them released from captivity and protected; government agencies that are required to protect them by law (the ESA), but have sometimes worked against them; and the cattle industry, which leans heavily towards elimination.

According to a May 24 report by “The Intercept,” Robert Gosnell, a former wildlife services director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS) in New Mexico, became a whistleblower for the wolves.

Gosnell uncovered the “rubber stamping” of false reports within the USDA’s Wildlife Services. These reports identified wolf predation as the cause of cattle losses.

But the reports were skewed, blaming Mexican gray wolves for 88% of cattle predation deaths on public lands, in stark contrast to the national average of 4%. Ninety-seven percent of these reports were designated as “confirmed or probable,” by the agency, which was absolutely incorrect. This ensured ranchers would receive compensation for illegitimate losses directly blamed on these wolves.

One investigation, through the Freedom of Information Act, looked at 48 (out of 49) claims between 2018-2021 made by one rancher claiming that 10% of her cattle were killed by wolves. As a result, she was compensated $70,000 in 2021. One 14-year veteran investigator stated he had “never heard of such a thing.” In his expert analysis, Mexican Gray Wolves are too small to kill large prey like cattle.

In addition, New Mexico Sen. Mark Heinrich (D-NM) had concerns about the agency and stated in a letter to the USDA inspector general that there were “serious accountability issues” and “lack of scientific integrity” relative to wolf predation, thereby requesting an investigation into the matter.

The USDA’s wildlife services stated mission is to “provide Federal leadership and expertise to resolve wildlife conflicts to allow people and wildlife to coexist.” A mission that is far off the mark and is thus failing to allow Mexican gray wolves to coexist.

The wildlife services’ responsibilities should include transparency and integrity to the people of Arizona and New Mexico, not the cattle industry. As Arizonans, we recognize that stewardship, trust and guardianship of our public lands is part of our heritage. Corruption and mishandling of the wildlife services make it a mockery. One must ask what do the words “allow people and wildlife to coexist” really mean?