PHOENIX – The Arizona Livestock Loss Commission is implementing a new incentive program to compensate ranchers who move livestock carcasses to locations inaccessible to wolves in Mexico. Officials announced Wednesday that the board will pay ranchers $250 for each unusable carcass for wolves.

The commission was established by the Arizona legislature in 2015 and one of its mandates was to study ways to reduce the predation of livestock by wolves in Mexico.

One of the effective measures in other states was the removal of dead animals from areas inhabited by wolves.

At a recent Arizona Livestock Loss Commission meeting, a Springerville rancher said carcass removal was effective in controlling looting on her working ranch.

Ranchers and Arizona Game and Fish officials have been removing the carcasses for years, but given the cost of extermination and the need to control the wolves themselves, it’s difficult for officials to spend on the program. Their number is limited by the limited time available.

The Mexican wolf is the rarest gray wolf subspecies in North America. According to the latest research published in early 2022, there were at least 196 Mexican wolves in the wild in New Mexico and Arizona. It was the sixth consecutive year of population growth.

Thousands without power in Santa Cruz County

NOGALES – Crew members worked Wednesday to restore power to thousands of customers in western Santa Cruz County.

UniSource Energy officials said an estimated 20,000 customers lost power around 3 a.m.

They said the blackout was related to the power lines and it was not immediately clear when power would be restored.

A power outage south of Madera Canyon, which includes the towns of Nogales, Rio Rico, Tubac and Patagonia, forced schools, businesses, clinics and government agencies to close on Wednesday.

The Nogales School District canceled all classes for the day, but the Nogales Police and Fire Department remained open.