House Moves to Delist Gray Wolves

The United States House of Representatives narrowly passed H.R. 6784, the Manage our Wolves act. This bill will remove the gray wolf from the list of endangered species–if it also passes for review in the Senate.

Additionally, the bill would protect the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Wyoming and the western Great Lakes for their previous decisions to delist the gray wolf.

Gray wolves have been on the federal endangered species list since the 1960s when they were dwindled down to small populations in Michigan and Minnesota. Since that time, their population numbers have grown tremendously with an estimated 4,500 in the great lakes region alone. Furthermore, natural migration of the species has now caused strong population numbers for the species in Washington, Oregon, California, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana.

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has made repeated attempts in the past to delist the species in response to the revitalization of wolves across the continental United States, especially as estimated numbers exceeded recovery population requirements by over 300%. Nine times, federal courts have shot down these requests.

In fact, the only successful delisting of gray wolves occurred in the Northern Rockies of Montana and Idaho where it was attached to budget proposals. Wolves located in the rest of the United States are still on the Endangered Species Act list.

Coming months will tell if the Manage our Wolves Act will pass in the Senate and be turned into law.