A Call to Action for Mexican Gray Wolves in Cochise County
Wonder at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in April 2024 (Photo by Aislinn Maestas, USFWS)
“The future of Lobos in the Southwest depends on relentless pressure applied to responsible state and federal agencies and elected officials by dedicated citizen activists, conservation organizations, independent scientists, and conservation lawyers. The Rewilding Institute remains actively engaged with our conservation partners to ensure the eventual recovery of Mexican wolves at ecologically effective distributions and abundance throughout the wildlands of the Southwest.” – Dave Parsons, The Saga of the Mexican Gray Wolf
One year ago, a pair of Mexican gray wolves, named Llave and Wonder, were released in the Peloncillo Mountains on the border of southeast Arizona and southwest New Mexico. For Llave, this was a return to a mountain range she previously called home.
Llave was born in Arizona. But when she reached breeding age, she was captured and relocated to Mexico. There she found a mate, and together they walked north into the U.S., establishing territory in the Peloncillos. The following year, Llave’s mate was killed. Now solo, she started covering large distances to find a new companion. She was not going to be successful; she was too isolated from the rest of the population, so she was again captured and paired with Wonder. The duo spent a winter bonding in captivity at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico before being set free to live their lives as the southernmost wolf pack in the U.S.
The twists and turns in Llave’s life, having lived in two countries and in and out of captivity, are hard to forget. When I first heard her story last fall, that she was again living in the wild with her new mate, it felt incredible—and inspiring. It is impossible to imagine how many challenges she has overcome (extended severe drought and the U.S.-Mexico border wall being two unique to this area). This wolf must be determined, resilient; she has my respect. As an integral part of the wild landscape, I am rooting for this pair to survive.
Llave at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico (USFWS Photo)
Fast forward to this spring, and a handful of livestock kills were confirmed to be wolf predations in Cochise County, where the Peloncillos and neighboring Chiricahua Mountains are located. A compensation process was initiated, but ranchers felt it was not enough. The family claimed additional cattle losses that were not substantiated by inspectors as wolf-related, which stoked ire. They went to the county supervisors and asked for a resolution to delist the Mexican gray wolf as an endangered species and defund the recovery program.
Their outcry is linked to a campaign backed by Cattle Growers’ Associations and industry lobbyists to have the Trump Administration delist the Mexican gray wolf and, more, to repeal the Endangered Species Act. The rightward shift in the national political climate has created an opportunity to strike that could be devastating for the Mexican gray wolf. One of the Cochise County supervisors has said they are looking into filing a class action lawsuit with other eastern Arizona counties that would transfer federal management of the Mexican gray wolf recovery program to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, among other efforts.
At a recent, packed county commissioner meeting seeking public comment, there was strong opposition to delisting, downlisting, or defunding the wolves’ protections. Half of the voices talked about the benefits wolves bring to the ecosystem, to the economy, and ways to find solutions and promote coexistence. Yet when the commissioners gave their closing comments, it seemed the anger they heard about federal overreach was what landed. One commissioner said that environmentalists need to put themselves in the shoes of ranchers and that we need to find balance, which has so far been skewed toward wolves.
The Cochise County board of supervisors plans to draft a resolution on the Mexican gray wolf that they will most likely approve at an upcoming meeting. Immediate public comments are needed. There is still the opportunity to make your voice heard, especially if you live in, have lived, visit, recreate, or participate in eco-tourism in Cochise County. You can email the county clerk and copy the supervisors to provide input as they write a resolution that could chart the species’ future.
To: bo***@********az.gov
Cc: Supervisor Tom Crosby tc*****@********az.gov, Supervisor Kathleen Gomez kg****@********az.gov, Supervisor Frank Antenori fa*******@********az.gov
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Sample comments, shared by Dirk Sigler, Cochise County resident and president of the Chiricahua Regional Council, at the commissioners’ meeting on May 13, 2025.
“Number one: You would think that there are just two groups—one being pro-wolf and the other anti-wolf. But this is not the case. Ranchers are not unified in their opposition to the wolf recovery program. Instead, I think we are hearing from a highly vocal anti-wolf segment of the ranching community. And likewise, there’s also a difference of opinion among conservationists, particularly when it comes to the morality of the wolf reintroductions.
“Number two: Because there isn’t consensus on this issue, it seems to me that this board should be gathering a wider range of expertise before it decides to vote on a resolution. It doesn’t really help to polarize the issue. Let’s recognize that there are multiple stakeholders when it comes to wolf recovery. And we have to figure out how to accommodate each other.
“Number three: Where I come from, wildlife viewing is the bedrock of our economy. We rely on healthy populations of wildlife. And for that we need intact and healthy habitats, particularly on public land. Anything we can do to enhance that is good for business. Ecotourism is the engine that drives my community. So, I would urge you to at least attempt to understand what conservation biology has to offer on the wolf. Not only for its scientific value, but for its economic and its political value. There is a large percentage of your constituency that chooses to live here because of the Wild character of the landscape. All of us—ranchers, non-ranchers—feel this way. You can’t live here without being moved by the Wild heart of the Land exactly as the Creator made it.”
