Wolves May Be Delisted Yet Again

The current administration recently took steps to remove wolves from the Endangered Species list. 

Derek Bakken from Minneapolis, MN, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

I wanted to take this opportunity to explain the situation and environment surrounding it. 

Wolves have been a controversial topic throughout our entire history, and their relationship with the ESA definitely reflects that.

Ever since their reintroduction in the 1990s, it has been a constant political battle as conservation groups fight for their federal protection and opponents lobby for the decision to be turned over to the states which often encourage aggressive hunting and removal.

Timeline of Gray Wolf ESA Listings and Delistings:

  1. 1974 – Wolves listed as endangered in the lower 48 states under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
  2. 1995 – Wolves reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho under federal management.
  3. 2003 – First attempt to delist wolves in some states (blocked by courts).
  4. 2009 – Obama administration delists wolves in Montana and Idaho.
  5. 2011 – Congressional action removes ESA protections for wolves in the Northern Rockies.
  6. 2014 – Federal court reinstates protections for wolves in the Great Lakes region.
  7. 2020 – Trump administration delists wolves nationwide.
  8. 2022 – Biden administration restores protections in some regions, but Northern Rockies remain delisted.

This issue is made even more complicated by the fact that their population is broken into different regions, meaning that wolves in one state may be protected while others may not. 

United States Wolf Regions:

Great Lakes Region: Wolves in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota currently benefit from federal protection. This is largely because wolf populations in these areas remain stable but have not reached the thresholds that other regions have for sustainable state management.

Northern Rockies Region: Wolves in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming were delisted and remain under state management, which has led to controversial hunting and trapping policies. While these populations have recovered, state laws now allow increased quotas and methods that many argue undermine conservation efforts.

Pacific Northwest & California: These populations are much smaller and more fragmented, so they still benefit from stronger federal protections.

Southern Rocky Mountains: Wolves were historically wiped out in this region, but reintroduction efforts are slowly gaining traction with grey wolves in Colorado and Mexican Grey Wolves in Arizona and New Mexico.

C. Brück, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

It is the Great Lakes Region, made up of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, whose protection is currently under threat. 

Overall, wolves are considered one of the greatest success stories of the Endangered Species Act and have become a symbol of success for conservation efforts. 

Perhaps that is one of the reasons why they are constantly under attack. 

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