A rancher in New Mexico is facing the loss of his grazing permit for trapping and striking a Mexican gray wolf, an endangered species.  

Craig Thiessen had a grazing permit for part of the Gila National Forest in western New Mexico. Earlier this year, he pleaded guilty to trapping the wolf and hitting it with a shovel back in 2015. Theissen told the Arizona Republic he let the wolf go, and federal officials told the paper the wolf later died.

Marta Call, a spokeswoman for the Gila National Forest, said the rancher violated the terms of his grazing permit.

“Each grazing permit states the authorization can be suspended or canceled in the event of a conviction for failure to comply with pertinent federal, state or local laws and regulation,” she said in an interview.

Thiessen paid $2,300 in restitution and is on a year-long probation. He is appealing to keep his grazing permit, a process that could take months.