Efforts to protect America’s gray wolf population have sparked debate for years — and soon those plans may face another obstacle. On Dec. 18, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would remove the gray wolf from the Endangered Species list.
If passed by the Senate and signed into law, H.R. 845, the Pet and Livestock Protection Act, would “remove protections for the gray wolf under the Endangered Species Act.” The bill would also prevent judges from reviewing and blocking the delisting.
History of the Gray Wolf
In an effort to protect livestock, the U.S. government helped to virtually eradicate the gray wolf from the Lower 48 states through the 1950s.
With the passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973, the gray wolf became a protected species. In the 1990s, Yellowstone National Park and U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USFW) began an innovative program to reintroduce the gray wolf to the American West.
Some have opposed these plans and protections out of concern for livestock, while others view reintroduction of the predator as an essential part of keeping ecosystems healthy.
The last 2 decades have seen a significant back-and-forth, where the gray wolf has been delisted — and then relisted — multiple times.
The Bill and the Response
Last month, 25 Republican lawmakers sent a letter to USFW requesting that the organization delist the gray wolf. The USFW did not delist wolves, but did end up halting the nationwide recovery plan for the animal, giving states and tribes more power over managing the species.
This legislation was a renewed effort to accomplish the delisting. Representatives Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and Tom Tiffany (R-WI) sponsored the bill, and it passed essentially on party lines, with 211 Republicans voting for the legislation and 204 Democrats against it.
In a press release, Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI) explained why he supported the bill: “For folks in the Upper Peninsula, this issue is not theoretical — it is part of everyday life,” he said.
“Hunters, farmers, and families across the U.P. have watched deer numbers decline, livestock losses increase, and pets threatened, all while bureaucrats in Washington and activist judges across the country continued to ignore the science and the voices of local residents,” Bergman said.
It’s also a hot topic in Montana, where Rep. Troy Downing (R-MT) said that residents should be able to safeguard their herds without fearing legal consequences.
Some conservation nonprofits have already pushed back against the bill. In a news release, Bradley Williams, Sierra Club’s deputy legislative director for wildlife and lands protection, stated, “Anti-wildlife lawmakers are once again attacking the Endangered Species Act, this time by targeting gray wolves.”
“The science is clear: wolves still need federal protections to recover across their historic range, and stripping them now would put this iconic species at risk,” Williams added. “Blocking judicial review only adds to the recklessness of this bill.”
The Humane World Action Fund also issued a statement calling the bill “meritless” and asked the Senate to reject it. “This is a shameless attempt to sideline science and hand wolf management over to special interests,” said Sara Amundson, the Humane World Action Fund’s president.
“The Endangered Species Act has worked for decades because decisions are made by scientists, not politicians,” Amundson said. “Congress shouldn’t override expert agencies and the courts just to fast-track wolf hunts, and it certainly shouldn’t ignore how deeply Americans care about wolves.”
The bill will next head to the Senate, where it needs 60 votes to pass. Congress is currently on leave for the holidays and will reconvene in January.
