
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.
Related Content
Skip carousel items

New Congress = New Attack on Wolves
Expert BlogElly Pepper
Wolves in Wyoming would be vulnerable to an aggressive state killing plan if they’re delisted.

Bipartisan Effort Brings Attack on Wolves to a Head
Expert BlogNora Apter
Today, a key Senate committee voted to move forward with the bipartisan “HELP for Wildlife Act” (S. 1514), a misleadingly-titled bill containing detrimental anti-wildlife provisions that would harm gray wolves and the Endangered Species Act more broadly.

National Wolf Delisting: Too Much, Too Soon
Expert BlogSylvia Fallon

Colorado’s Call of the Wild
Expert BlogSylvia Fallon
The state used to be home to gray wolves. Can it ever get them back?
House Takes Aim at Endangered Species Act
Press Release
Slate of Bills Would Gut Protections for Wildlife on the Brink of Extinction