Feds decline protections for Western wolves

Federal officials have declined to restore protections for wolves in the western U.S., finding that the animals aren’t in danger of extinction.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Friday that it was rejecting petitions seeking Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains, and that it found the species is “not warranted” for protections under the Endangered Species Act.

The finding keeps management of the species under state control in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and parts of eastern Oregon and Washington.

The agency also said it would begin work on a nationwide recovery plan for the species, which is listed as endangered in 44 states and as threatened in Minnesota.

The plan would be the first of its kind for wolves. The Fish and Wildlife Service said it would develop the plan by Dec. 12, 2025.

Wolves once roamed North America in large numbers, but predator control programs in the early 1900s wiped them out in most places. The species was first listed under the ESA in 1978.

Reintroductions in Central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park in the 1990s brought the species back, and the populations have since grown and expanded into other parts of the West, such as Eastern Washington. The Northern Rocky Mountains population was delisted in 2011

Wolf advocates have long argued for restoring federal protections. Coalitions of environmental groups filed two separate petitions with the the Fish and Wildlife Service in 2021, arguing that new laws in Idaho and Montana posed new threats to the species, such as higher bag limits and longer seasons for wolf hunters and trappers.

In a news release detailing its decision Friday, the Fish and Wildlife Service said it assessed the populations across the West and found wolves there aren’t at risk of extinction “now or in the foreseeable future.”

The agency estimated that there were about 2,800 wolves across seven states at the end of 2022, and that the population size and wolves’ distribution make the species resilient. It also said the wolves have high genetic diversity and connectivity.

Friday’s announcement was a disappointment to those pushing to restore protections. Kristine Akland, northern Rockies program director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a news release that the Fish and Wildlife Service is ignoring “cruel, aggressive wolf-killing laws in Montana and Idaho.”

The Center for Biological Diversity’s release added that it will consider challenging the finding in court. A spokesperson for the Western Environmental Law Center said in an email that the firm plans to send the Fish and Wildlife Service a notice of intent to sue on Monday.

The finding doesn’t change wolves’ legal status in Washington, where they are listed under the ESA in the western two-thirds of the state and delisted in the eastern third.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife issued a statement Friday that said the agency plans to work with the Fish and Wildlife Service on the nationwide recovery plan.

WDFW also noted that wolves are still listed as endangered at the state level, and that the state expects to release a final status review this month.

Since wolves were first seen in Washington in 2008, the population has grown significantly. In 2022, WDFW estimated there were at least 216 wolves across 37 packs in the state.