US Refuses to Protect Wolves in Northern Rockies

Federal wildlife officials refused to restore Endangered Species Act protection to Northern Rockies wolves despite states implementing hunting plans and repeated requests from conservation groups. Vigilantes in Idaho are again offering bounties ($1000) for dead wolves.  Wolves in the Northern Rockies were removed from the Endangered Species Act list at the end of the Trump regime.

California wolf near Yosemite

US Fish and Wildlife estimates 2800 wolves in the region stating that the species maintains high genetic diversity and connectivity that allows it to adapt to future changes.  Conservationists see a different picture  saying some western states are trying to renege on wolf conservation commitments made a decade ago. Because a few western states (Montana, Wyoming and Idaho) are aggressively culling wolves, they still need 
federal protection. As wolf numbers have rebounded, the ancient enmity between agriculturalists and wolves has reignited. Livestock owners claim the wolf has recovered and is not in need of further protection. [photo credit: AP]

Wolves are experiencing a better fate in Washington, Oregon, Colorado and California where wolf populations are expanding under management plans. Grey wolves are still federally protected in the Great Lakes region thanks to a ruling by a federal judge in 2022. When their federal protection lapsed, Wisconsin hunters far exceeded the number of permissible wolf kills in a single season. The issue of wolf recovery has become part of the culture wars ranging across the nation. One positive note is that the USFWS announced on February 2nd it will promulgate a nationwide wolf recovery plan in 2025, replacing the disasterous piecemeal treatment now in effect.