UNITED STATES — The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced on Feb. 2 that the northern Rocky Mountain population of gray wolves will stay off the Endangered Species Act (ESA) list of protected species.
After completing a status review, the federal agency determined that ESA protection of these wolves was “not warranted,” denying the 2021 petition filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club and Humane Society of the United States.
The FWS said in a statement, “Analysis indicates that wolves are not at risk of extinction in the Western United States now or in the foreseeable future.”
While the gray wolf will remain off the ESA list, the USFWS will undertake a process to develop a first-ever nationwide gray wolf recovery plan under the ESA by Dec. 12, 2025, as well as initiate a new approach for how communities can co-exist with gray wolves including conflict prevention, long-term stability and community security. Until now, there has not been a plan that comprehensively addresses gray wolf recovery nationwide.
The FWS plans to work with state and Tribal partners, including nation-to-nation consultation, to create solutions that protect wolves and sustain human communities and livelihood, according to the FWS.
The current federal legal status does not affect the states’ listings of gray wolves.
In Wyoming, wolves were removed from the endangered species list on April 25, 2017, and management of the species is led by the State of Wyoming.
According to the Wyoming Gray Wolf 2022 Annual Report, the gray wolf population remained above minimum recovery criteria at the end of 2022. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) implemented a wolf hunting season to control population to approximately 160 wolves in the Wolf Trophy Game Management Area, a region covering the northwest portion of the state.
“We have multiple regulatory mechanisms in place to ensure we maintain wolf populations in Wyoming and a robust monitoring program for wolves,” Large Carnivore Section Supervisor for the WGFD Dan J. Thompson, PhD told Buckrail via email.
WGFD is currently in the process of quantifying the wolf population in northwest Wyoming and will provide those final population demographics in its annual report in spring 2024.
