February 10th, 2022: Today, a federal district court today struck down a 2020 decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that removed Endangered Species Act protections from gray wolves across much of the U.S. The Trump administration delisted the gray wolf after 45 years of protection under the ESA despite the strong disagreement from experts who noted that the wolf’s recovery hinged on continued protections.
Although President Biden expressed personal concern for wolves, the Biden administration defended the delisting decision. Today’s ruling throws out the Trump administration delisting rule and reinstates federal protections for wolves in 44 states. This means that existing wolf populations in the Great Lakes region and west coast states, which were stripped of ESA protections by the Trump administration, will once again have federal protections against killing, harm, and habitat destruction. Sierra Club and its co-plaintiffs in the case were represented by Earthjustice.