FWS decides to look again at gray wolf’s endangered species protections

The gray wolf could potentially lose its Endangered Species Act protections, according to a notice published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The agency plans to assess the gray wolf’s recovery and determine by year-end if it can revise the species' status, likely with the intent of downgrading it. But gray wolves are still absent from significant portions of their former range where substantial suitable habitat remains, such as in Colorado, California, and in the Northeast. Gray wolves are listed as endangered in the Lower 48 except where protections have been removed in the Northern Rockies. A previous attempt to remove nationwide protections from gray wolves in 2014 was soundly rejected by an independent scientific panel.