A judge restored federal protections for gray wolves across much of the U.S. on February 10 after their removal from Endangered Species Act protection in the waning days of the Trump administration.
The Associated Press reported that U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White in Oakland, California, said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had failed to show wolf populations could be sustained in the Midwest and portions of the West without protection under the Endangered Species Act. Wildlife advocates had sued the agency last year over the delisting.
The ruling protects gray wolves that live in the Lower 48 except for wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains. This means that the 4,000 or so wolves that live in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, California, Colorado, and western Oregon and Washington are again federally protected. This is a ruling to celebrate!
The ruling does not protect the 3,000 or so wolves that live in the Northern Rocky Mountains: Idaho, Montana, Wyoming the eastern portions of Oregon and Washington, and the northeastern corner of Utah. Those wolves were delisted by Congress and are under state management. That congressional delisting was written so that it could not be challenged in court. Instead we must continue the current fight to force the US Fish and Wildlife Service to relist Northern Rocky Mountain wolves.
Below is a list of all of the plaintiff organizations that brought about today's victory. Please take a moment to thank them.
WELC plaintiff group:
WildEarth Guardians, Western Watersheds Project, Cascadia Wildlands, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC), The Lands Council, Wildlands Network, Klamath Forest Alliance, and Kettle Range Conservation Group
Earthjustice plaintiff group:
Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, the Humane Society of the United States, Sierra Club, National Parks Conservation Association and Oregon Wild.
NRDC filed the litigation on behalf of itself.
Thanks to these organizations for fighting for wolves--and winning!
And, yes, there's still work to do to protect wolves in the Northern Rockies. But let's celebrate this victory: we get so few.
Award-winning Indie author Rick Lamplugh writes and photographs to protect wildlife and wild lands.
His award-winning book In the Temple of Wolves; its sequel, Deep into Yellowstone; and its prequel, The Wilds of Aging are available signed. His books are also available unsigned or as eBook or audiobook on Amazon.
You can also join Rick in his latest writing adventure, a free weekly letter to subscribers entitled Love the Wild. You’ll find excerpts from his books, podcasts, photo essays, opinion pieces, and more. All aim to excite your mind and warm your heart.
Photo of wolf howling in relief by Michigan DNR
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