ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Catron County Manager Bill Aymar says officials only want to prevent problems by asking the federal government to remove a pregnant female Mexican gray wolf released on the county's border after it killed two cows elsewhere.

But Victoria Fox, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, says the agency has no reason to remove the wolf.

The dispute over the animal - designated F924 - began as soon as it was released April 25 in southwestern New Mexico.

The next day, the county demanded it be removed as an "imminent danger." Fish and Wildlife rejected the demand last week.

The county has threatened to invoke an ordinance, passed in February, in which the county claims the right to remove wolves that are accustomed to humans or have a high probability of harming children or other defenseless people, physically or psychologically.

Fish and Wildlife Service officials say the Endangered Species Act supersedes a county ordinance, and warn that any unauthorized action against the wolf would mean federal prosecution.

The program to put endangered Mexican gray wolves back into the wild in Arizona and New Mexico calls for Fish and Wildlife to remove any wolf linked to three livestock killings within a year - what's called "depredation" in federal speak.

This is how county officials see it: F924 already has killed two cows, and she's established a den half a mile from a herd on private land near the area's only water source. The wolf has to drink that water, which could put her in contact with cattle and lead to another killing.

"Then she would have three strikes and would have to be removed," Aymar says.

"Removed is removed," regardless of when it happens, he says.

Fox responds: "Realistically, we have no control over where a female wolf chooses to den or localize. At this point in time we have no reason to move her, but to observe and continue to monitor the wolf."

County commissioners won't take up the issue of F924 when they meet Wednesday, Aymar says. Instead, they'll probably focus on the not-yet-used wolf control ordinance and litigation threatened by environmental groups, he says.

Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity says his group believes the county has chosen F924 "as something of a test case." Four environmental groups, including Robinson's, have filed notice they will sue to invalidate the ordinance.

The wolf reintroduction program allows people to kill or injure a wolf to protect human life, or to kill or injure a wolf on private or tribal land if it's killing or attacking livestock.

People cannot harm wolves that are killing livestock on public land, that are eating a livestock carcass and haven't been seen to kill it, or that attack a pet or working dog, even on private or tribal land.

They also cannot kill or harm a wolf simply because it's near them or their property.

There are about 60 wild wolves in Arizona and New Mexico, says John Mogart, coordinator for the recovery program. The number fluctuates, especially this time of year when wolves are having pups and the mortality rate among those pups is highest.

Catron County views the battle over F924 as part of a larger concern.

County officials say the crux of their argument is that wolves pose a threat to residents. They've approached people with dogs, they've been seen in backyards; one killed a cat in front of children, Aymar says.

"These wolves don't act like wild wolves," he says. "These wolves are habituated to humans; they're fed by hand in the beginning (after release); they see humans as a food source. They're not conditioned to be afraid of humans."

County officials want to prevent problems "as opposed to waiting for one of these wolves to kill a child, and then what? We're derelict in our duties," he says.

Fish and Wildlife officials have been answering that worry since the program released its first wolves in 1998.

Agency officials, responding in October 2005 to comments in field hearings, said wolves are chosen for release partly based on their avoidance and fear of humans.

And, the report said, the proximity of a wolf to humans or buildings doesn't mean it's likely to attack. It said wolf attacks are rare in North America and free-ranging wolves have not killed anyone in the United States.

"Mexican wolves selected for reintroduction are managed with minimal exposure to humans in an environment that fosters and maintains natural wolf behaviors," the report said.

The agency acknowledged feeding wolves for a month or two after release or relocation or in cases such as females needing temporary feeding after giving birth. But once a pack is established, they're on their own.

Fish and Wildlife officials have recaptured and moved numerous wolves since the program's inception. They've also permanently removed about 18 wolves linked to three cattle depredations each. Nearly half those wolves were shot dead by program officials.

On Wednesday, more than two dozen conservation groups asked Fish and Wildlife to suspend the three strikes policy, contending it undermines the reintroduction program.