The Biden administration has made a controversial move to reinstate a Trump-era rule that lifted endangered species protections on gray wolves in the U.S. Wolves were delisted from the Endangered Species Act under President Trump in 2020, returning management of gray wolf populations to state and tribal wildlife professionals. However, a federal judge reversed Trump’s decision in 2022 after environmental groups sued the Department of the Interior over the delisting, reinstating protection for the species. Gray wolves are currently protected under the ESA as “threatened” in Minnesota and “endangered” in the remaining states, except for those in the Northern Rocky Mountain region.
Attorneys with the Justice Department filed a motion with the 9th U.S. District Court of Appeals on Friday to reverse the court’s decision on the Trump-era delisting and lift ESA protections on gray wolves. The filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco claimed that the court was wrong in overturning the Trump-era ruling on the species. The Biden administration claimed in its 87-page filing that gray wolves no longer meet ESA standards of protection in that they are no longer considered “endangered” or “threatened.” Court documents referenced the 2020 ruling from Trump’s Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service that delisted the wolf species.
The move to reinstate the Trump-era rule comes just months after a group of 20 House Republicans sent a letter to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams, urging the Biden administration to remove protections for the gray wolf, citing sometimes life-threatening conflicts with ranchers and farmers. In February, FWS rejected requests from conservation groups to restore protection for gray wolves across the Northern Rocky Mountain region. Most recently, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers passed legislation in April to end federal protection for gray wolves and remove them from the endangered species list.
The Biden administration claimed that the decision to lift protection for gray wolves is based on a thorough analysis conducted by Trump’s Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service in 2020, which concluded that no configuration of gray wolves was threatened or endangered in all or a significant portion of its range. The administration argued that the court’s decision to overturn the Trump-era rule was based on a misunderstanding of the ESA’s clear mandate and its own views of the science, and should be reversed. The move to lift ESA protections on gray wolves has sparked controversy and debate among lawmakers, environmental groups, and wildlife professionals.
With the ongoing conflicts between gray wolves and ranchers and farmers, the decision to remove protections for the species remains a divisive issue. Environmental groups continue to advocate for reinstating protections for gray wolves, citing their importance in maintaining ecosystem balance and biodiversity. On the other hand, some lawmakers and stakeholders argue that the species has sufficiently recovered and no longer requires ESA protections. The future of gray wolves in the U.S. remains uncertain as the Biden administration moves forward with its decision to reinstate the Trump-era rule and lift protections for the species.
