Cochise supervisors hear plan to pursue U.S.-only downlisting, seek more compensation and faster investigations

Cochise County supervisors on May 8 heard a detailed briefing on the Mexican wolf reintroduction program and its local effects, including population data, federal rules that govern management and options the county can pursue. The Eastern Arizona Counties Organization (ECO) told the board the U.S. wolf population could meet the recovery criteria for a U.S.-only downlisting within a few years, while ranchers and Cochise County law enforcement said delays in federal depredation investigations and limited field staffing are harming producers now.

The issue matters because population growth drives range expansion and livestock losses and because management options differ sharply depending on whether federal wildlife authorities move to downlist the U.S. population from “endangered” to “threatened,” or to delist the species entirely. ECO’s presenter, Pascal Berriault, said a path exists to downlist the U.S. population but that continued federal funding and program activity are needed to reach that goal without leaving local producers without tools or compensation.

Berriault, executive director of the Eastern Arizona Counties Organization, summarized data and legal triggers in the U.S. recovery plan. He said the federal minimum count at the end of 2024 was 286 Mexican wolves in the United States and that the population has grown roughly 11 percent in 2024 and about 14.3 percent on average since 2017. He said the recovery rule includes two key tests for a U.S.-only downlisting: a four-year U.S. average population of at least 320 wolves and successful incorporation of new genes into the wild population (22 successful incorporations under the plan). ECO’s count…