WYOMING — Under a settlement approved on Thursday, Dec. 14 by a District of Columbia federal court, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) must draft a new recovery plan within the next two years for gray wolves listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), however, these protections do not extend to wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains who are currently not protected under the Act.
There is no plan that comprehensively addresses gray wolf recovery nationwide. Even though these Wyoming carnivores aren’t included in the new recovery under the ESA, Large Carnivore Section Supervisor for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) Dan J. Thompson, PhD, stresses that there are state-run monitoring protections in place for gray wolves.
“We have multiple regulatory mechanisms in place to ensure we maintain wolf populations in Wyoming and a robust monitoring program for wolves,” Thompson told Buckrail via email. “There is a lot of ongoing excitement and intrigue regarding wolf management in areas surrounding Wyoming; we continue forward with our conservation and management of wolves based on data and public input to maintain a healthy wolf population and reduce conflict potential between wolves and humans.”
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.
