Tiohtià:ke (Montreal), 16 October 2026—On 14 October 2026, a Mexican national residing in Chiapas, Mexico, filed a submission with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) under Chapter 24 of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA/CUSMA). The submission asserts that the United States is failing to effectively enforce the Endangered Species Act (ESA) with respect to the Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi), a species whose range extends across northern Mexico and the southern United States.

In submission SEM-26-010 (Mexican Gray Wolf), the submitter asserts that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued administrative directives and memoranda that narrow the meaning of “take” under the ESA. According to the submission, this narrower interpretation excludes from oversight and mitigation requirements the incidental deaths, injuries and habitat destruction of protected species caused by industrial, logging, agricultural, energy and road infrastructure activities in the Southwestern United States.

According to the submitter, the Mexican gray wolf is the most threatened canid in North America. Its long-term survival is said to depend on ecological and genetic connectivity between populations in the Sierra Madre Occidental in Mexico and those in Arizona and New Mexico. The submission claims that unmitigated incidental mortality in US territory threatens an already limited gene pool and undermines binational recovery and reintroduction efforts carried out with Mexican and US authorities.

The submission cites the following provisions of the Endangered Species Act:

• Section 9(a)(1)(B), which prohibits the take of endangered species

• Section 10(a)(1)(B), on incidental take permits and habitat conservation plans

• Section 4(f), on recovery plans

This submission is the tenth submission filed with the CEC Secretariat in 2026 and the second this year concerning the United States.

The Secretariat will review the submission within 30 days to determine whether it meets the requirements of USMCA/CUSMA Article 24.27(1), (2) and (3).

To learn more about the SEM process and for more detailed information on this matter, please consult the registry page for the submission SEM-26-010 (Mexican Gray Wolf) in the public registry of submissions on the CEC website.