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The Mexican Wolf has been listed as endangered since 1978. Now the U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service says listing it as its own subspecies will allow the agency to focus on its recovery.

Federal regulators made changes Monday to the Mexican gray wolf protections, listing the Mexican wolf as endangered in its own unique subspecies. But some conservationists say the new rules won’t have lasting impacts.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials last counted 83 Mexican wolves in Arizona and New Mexico. Under new rules the agency plans to grow the population four-fold.  

Mexican Wolf Recovery Coordinator Sherry Barrett said they’re also expanding the area where they can release the animals in the experimental population to increase genetic variation in the wild.

“Those captive wolves have more genetic variation than our wild population so it’s important we try to get those out on the ground,” Barrett said.

The new rule allows the animals between Interstate 40 to the Mexican border and from the eastern edge of California to the border of Texas.

The agency received 40,000 comments including those from conservation groups that wanted a bigger area for recovery.