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🇲🇽 Mexico /Environment & Climate

Trump moves to remove protections for Mexican gray wolves, citing support for U.S. ranchers

From El Universal · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement New plan
  • President Donald Trump ordered Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to determine within 90 days whether gray wolves and Mexican gray wolves meet the criteria for removal from federal endangered-species protections.
  • The administration says the move supports ranchers who report wolf attacks on livestock, while conservation groups argue that existing nonlethal programs should receive more funding.
  • The Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project says only 317 Mexican gray wolves remain in the wild, and advocates warn weaker protections could undermine recovery efforts.

Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at determining whether gray wolves and Mexican gray wolves should lose protections under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

The order gives Interior Secretary Doug Burgum 90 days to decide whether the wolves meet the legal criteria for delisting. The administration presents the move as support for ranchers who report attacks on livestock.

Trump took a similar step during his first term, ordering gray wolves removed from the federal endangered-species list. A court later overturned that decision.

The impact of wolves on the livestock industry pales in comparison with the effects of the recent trade agreements promoted by the president and the challenges facing ranching in the American West because of changing weather conditions.

· Greta AndersonThe Western Watersheds Project deputy director criticized the administration’s justification for weakening wolf protections.

Conservation organizations criticized the new order. Greta Anderson, deputy director of Western Watersheds Project, said the effect of wolves on the livestock industry “pales” beside the impact of recent trade agreements promoted by Trump and the challenges facing ranchers in the American West as weather conditions change.

Wolf advocates say ranchers can receive compensation for losses caused by wolf predation through state and federal programs. State wildlife departments also finance conflict-reduction measures, including removing dead animals and monitoring herds during grazing, which can help reduce habituation.

The Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project says only 317 Mexican gray wolves remain in the wild. The population faces serious genetic challenges, and its defenders warn that weakening federal protections could jeopardize decades of recovery work. Regan Downey of the Wolf Conservation Center said the focus should be on expanding funding for nonlethal measures rather than targeting the wolves’ protections.

The problem is not the Mexican gray wolves, but the administration’s approach to resolving the supposed conflicts. If the administration really wanted to support ranchers, it would prioritize increasing funding for nonlethal initiatives to create lasting solutions.

· Regan DowneyThe Wolf Conservation Center’s director of education and advocacy called for more funding for nonlethal conflict measures.
About this summary

Originally published by El Universal in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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