County staff to schedule special meeting after notice of bill to delist Mexican wolf

Greenlee County Administrator Derek Rupier told the Board of Supervisors during the public comment period that Representative Paul Gosar had drafted legislation to delist the Mexican wolf from the Endangered Species Act and that the board had received that information after the agenda posted. "We had heard chattering all week that Representative Paul Gosar ... was gonna introduce a bill to delist the Mexican wolf from the Endangered Species Act," Rupier said.

Rupier said the matter was not on the current agenda and therefore could not be acted on that day, but he offered a draft resolution the county could consider as a formal statement of support. He asked the board whether staff should place the resolution on the July 22 agenda or call a special meeting sooner. "This is a resolution that would express the board's support for Representative Gosar's legislation. Because it's not on the agenda, we can't act today," Rupier said.

Board members responded that timing was important and asked staff to set a special meeting early the following week; members agreed to convene on a Monday and later settled on noon as a likely meeting time. The board did not adopt the resolution at the meeting where the issue was raised.

Why it matters: a board resolution is a formal public statement that can be used to signal local elected leaders' positions to state and federal lawmakers; the county is taking expedited steps to consider whether to endorse legislation that would affect a federally listed species.

What happens next: staff will propose and calendar a special meeting to allow the board to consider adopting a resolution supporting Representative Gosar's bill. No formal vote on the resolution occurred at this meeting.