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Catron Studies Wolf-Kill Law
By Rene Romo
Copyright © 2007 Albuquerque Journal; Journal Southern Bureau
LAS CRUCES— Catron County is considering an ordinance that would allow county officials, not just the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to decide when and how to eliminate endangered Mexican gray wolves that are considered threats to humans.
If commissioners adopted such an ordinance, it would mark another bold step in the "county movement," of which Catron County has long been at the forefront.
A central focus of the movement in New Mexico, Nevada and other Western states has been to assert local authority over that of the federal government.
The ordinance— which is being discussed but is not on the table— could lead to conflict with federal officials who have managed wolf reintroduction since 1998 in national forests in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.
Catron County Manager Bill Aymar said a growing number of incidents in New Mexico in which wolves have killed pets or livestock and menaced residents has led commissioners to think action is needed.
"If you're flying an airplane and your helmet is on fire, you're going to deal with it," Aymar said in a telephone interview. "And we are having experiences day to day with wolves being close."
At a special meeting Jan. 24, the county's three elected commissioners discussed a resolution that would allow a county employee to remove a wolf that was deemed "habituated" to human contact if federal officials did not remove the wolf within 24 hours, according to a news release.
The county's attorney, Ron Shortes, said Thursday that he has received six drafts of a wolf ordinance from the county's consultant on natural resource management, Alex Thal of Western New Mexico University's Southwest Center for Resource Analysis.
Drafts of the ordinance would allow the commission to issue a dispatch order to remove from the county or kill a problem wolf, Aymar said.
Shortes said he is analyzing whether such an ordinance would be on solid legal footing.
In February 2006, the Catron County Commission declared that an economic and agricultural state of emergency existed because of the presence and depredations of Mexican gray wolves.
Shortes said he was reviewing a suggestion that, because the county declared an emergency last year, the commission could adopt a wolf-management ordinance without first holding a public hearing.
However, Aymar said the commission definitely would hold a public hearing before adopting such an ordinance.
A news release from a county consultant said the commission was scheduled to vote on the ordinance at its next meeting on Wednesday, but Aymar said Thursday that it is unlikely the item will be placed on the agenda.
Because of the reintroduction program, an estimated 59 wolves now roam southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico, with 22 in this state.
John Morgart, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Mexican wolf recovery coordinator, said he was not able to comment on the Catron County plan but that the issue is under review.
Meanwhile, Morgart said, a county-led removal effort could be problematic because of how the determination is made that a wolf has become habituated to humans.
Morgart noted that federal rules already allow people to kill, injure or harass a wolf in defense of human life.
Michael Robinson of the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity said he expects Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Justice Department to respond if Catron County enacts an ordinance allowing its agents to remove or kill wolves.
"They are asserting county rights where there is no legal basis, and it will be interesting to see what the federal response is this time," Robinson said.
"We call on the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Justice Department to make sure that vigilante justice does not prevail."
By Rene Romo
Copyright © 2007 Albuquerque Journal; Journal Southern Bureau
LAS CRUCES— Catron County is considering an ordinance that would allow county officials, not just the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to decide when and how to eliminate endangered Mexican gray wolves that are considered threats to humans.
If commissioners adopted such an ordinance, it would mark another bold step in the "county movement," of which Catron County has long been at the forefront.
A central focus of the movement in New Mexico, Nevada and other Western states has been to assert local authority over that of the federal government.
The ordinance— which is being discussed but is not on the table— could lead to conflict with federal officials who have managed wolf reintroduction since 1998 in national forests in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.
Catron County Manager Bill Aymar said a growing number of incidents in New Mexico in which wolves have killed pets or livestock and menaced residents has led commissioners to think action is needed.
"If you're flying an airplane and your helmet is on fire, you're going to deal with it," Aymar said in a telephone interview. "And we are having experiences day to day with wolves being close."
At a special meeting Jan. 24, the county's three elected commissioners discussed a resolution that would allow a county employee to remove a wolf that was deemed "habituated" to human contact if federal officials did not remove the wolf within 24 hours, according to a news release.
The county's attorney, Ron Shortes, said Thursday that he has received six drafts of a wolf ordinance from the county's consultant on natural resource management, Alex Thal of Western New Mexico University's Southwest Center for Resource Analysis.
Drafts of the ordinance would allow the commission to issue a dispatch order to remove from the county or kill a problem wolf, Aymar said.
Shortes said he is analyzing whether such an ordinance would be on solid legal footing.
In February 2006, the Catron County Commission declared that an economic and agricultural state of emergency existed because of the presence and depredations of Mexican gray wolves.
Shortes said he was reviewing a suggestion that, because the county declared an emergency last year, the commission could adopt a wolf-management ordinance without first holding a public hearing.
However, Aymar said the commission definitely would hold a public hearing before adopting such an ordinance.
A news release from a county consultant said the commission was scheduled to vote on the ordinance at its next meeting on Wednesday, but Aymar said Thursday that it is unlikely the item will be placed on the agenda.
Because of the reintroduction program, an estimated 59 wolves now roam southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico, with 22 in this state.
John Morgart, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Mexican wolf recovery coordinator, said he was not able to comment on the Catron County plan but that the issue is under review.
Meanwhile, Morgart said, a county-led removal effort could be problematic because of how the determination is made that a wolf has become habituated to humans.
Morgart noted that federal rules already allow people to kill, injure or harass a wolf in defense of human life.
Michael Robinson of the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity said he expects Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Justice Department to respond if Catron County enacts an ordinance allowing its agents to remove or kill wolves.
"They are asserting county rights where there is no legal basis, and it will be interesting to see what the federal response is this time," Robinson said.
"We call on the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Justice Department to make sure that vigilante justice does not prevail."
