{"id":660921,"date":"2025-12-19T15:07:31","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T20:07:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gearjunkie.com\/?p=660921"},"modified":"2025-12-19T15:30:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T20:30:42","slug":"gray-wolf-delisting-endangered-species","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gearjunkie.com\/hunting\/gray-wolf-delisting-endangered-species","title":{"rendered":"Wolves to Lose Federal Protections in Bill Passed by House"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Efforts to protect America’s gray wolf population have sparked debate for years \u2014<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If passed by the Senate and signed into law, H.R. 845<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History of the Gray Wolf<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973, the gray wolf became a protected species. In the 1990s, Yellowstone National Park<\/a> and U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USFW) began an innovative program to reintroduce the gray wolf to the American West.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A gray wolf in Yellowstone; (photo\/NPS\/Jim Peaco)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last 2 decades have seen a significant back-and-forth<\/a>, where the gray wolf has been delisted \u2014 and then relisted \u2014 multiple times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bill and the Response<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a> for the animal, giving states and tribes more power over managing the species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a press release<\/a>, Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI) explained why he supported the bill: “For folks in the Upper Peninsula, this issue is not theoretical \u2014 it is part of everyday life,” he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s also a hot topic in Montana, where Rep. Troy Downing<\/a> (R-MT) said that residents should be able to safeguard their herds without fearing legal consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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