Sheriff: Mexican wolf program needs better federal-local cooperation

Sheriff Mark Daniels said on KWCD’s First Watch that management of the Mexican wolf program is not working and must be fixed through better engagement between federal agencies and local ranchers. Speaking from Cochise County, Daniels criticized the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for what he described as a dismissive approach to concerns raised by ranching families.

“If you harm a wolf, we arrest you,” Daniels said, paraphrasing the enforcement position he said the federal agency expressed to ranchers. He said that approach, without stronger local engagement, increases tension and is not an effective way to manage a protected species in a working-ranch landscape.

Daniels said the program is now being governed in part by the Arizona Game and Fish Department and recounted efforts to contact U.S. Fish and Wildlife staff. He told listeners he found it difficult to reach agency staff and that ranchers feel unheard when livestock losses are reported. “You have to work with the people that hundred-year ranchers and family members,” he said, adding that program management should aim for workable local solutions.

Daniels said he sent a cover letter to the White House on behalf of a local ranchers’ group and that some Arizona congressional offices are also engaged on the issue. He said the goal is to find middle ground to reduce conflict in Cochise County and protect legacy cattle operations while complying with federal protections.

The sheriff called for more active federal management and direct, ongoing conversation with local stakeholders, but he did not specify any pending regulatory changes or new enforcement actions. He said the county is continuing to press the matter with state and federal partners.