State wildlife agency reports over 10% increase in Mexican wolf population

The state of New Mexico has announced an increase in the Mexican gray wolf population that could lead to the animal's delisting as an endangered species.

On Wednesday, New Mexico Department of Wildlife spokesperson Michael Colaianni said the annual population count revealed an 11.5% increase in Mexican wolves, from 286 in 2024 to 319 last year.

"The importance of this data is that this moves the recovery program one step closer to getting to the point that will support the downlisting of the Mexican wolf and development of a 4(d) rule under the (Endangered Species Act)," Colaianni said. "Implementation of a 4(d) rule would add greater flexibility in implementing management actions intended to reduce conflict while continuing recovery of the subspecies to the point of delisting."

There must be an annual average of 320 Mexican wolves over a four-year period "to support downlisting," he said.

"Although that average has not been obtained, this number does trigger the timing where a downlisting would be justified," Colaianni said.

The news of the Mexican wolf increase comes days after U.S. Fish and Wildlife issued a permit granting rancher and Catron County Commissioner Audrey McQueen and rancher Steve Hooper, "or their designated agents," permission to kill a wolf on federal and private land about 30 miles southwest of Quemado.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Aislinn Maestas said the permit would allow for the killing of "one Mexican wolf to address chronic livestock depredations." The permit is valid until April 4 "or until one wolf is taken under this permit," according to Fish and Wildlife.

In the past month, there were about 35 dead and missing livestock in the area. Everything possible was done to mitigate the issue, including the use of Foxlight night predator deterrents, but it did not stop, McQueen said.

"I'm a six-generation rancher and I (get) hit hard every single year," she said. "... Catron County (ranchers are) losing 50% to 70% of their calf crop. The county is losing millions of dollars. We are losing our livelihoods."

Environmental advocacy groups like the Center for Biological Diversity and Western Watersheds Project issued statements opposing Fish and Wildlife's decision to issue the permit.

"The permit allows the permittees to kill any wolf they see on private or federal land, in retribution for alleged and undisclosed livestock losses," Western Watersheds Project Deputy Director Greta Anderson said in a statement. "This is not how to solve livestock-related conflict and it's certainly not how species are recovered. It's basically a blank check for the revenge killing of any Mexican wolf who wanders by, and it's outrageous."

In 1976, the Mexican gray wolf was listed as endangered and a binational captive breeding program was initiated soon after to save the wolf from extinction. In 1998, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released the first captive Mexican wolves into the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area in New Mexico and Arizona.

"This is not a conflict-reduction strategy — it's political appeasement," said Michelle Lute, executive director for Wildlife for All, in a statement. "Broad kill permits do nothing to address the root causes of livestock losses and risk setting back recovery."

Gregory R.C. Hasman is a general assignment reporter and the Road Warrior. He can be reached at ghasman@abqjournal.com or 505-823-3820.