Petition: Relist Wolves Under the Endangered Species Act

UPDATE (1/24/25): As a new administration takes office in the United States, former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum will now serve as the Secretary of the Interior. We have updated the target of this petition to reflect this change.

UPDATE (4/30/24): In yet another direct attack on wolf recovery efforts the United States House of Representatives voted to to remove Endangered Species Act protections from gray wolves and return wolf management to state level government and wildlife officials, passing H.R.764 with 209 votes.

Anti-predator hysteria and misinformation could soon decimate America’s gray wolf population if this important native species is not protected.

Over the past several years, wolves have been killed at an alarming rate across the United States. Between 2020 and 2022, nearly 20% of the wolf population in Yellowstone National Park was slaughtered by hunters. During the winter of 2023-2024, an additional 10% of the park’s wolf population was wiped out. While wolves are protected from hunting inside the park, they can be killed if they wander outside its boundaries. Since gray wolves lost Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections in 2020, hunters have taken advantage of this loophole, lying in wait and setting traps for wolves who venture beyond the park. Tragically, the entire Phantom Lake Wolf Pack was killed within two months, leaving the pack officially “eliminated” and reducing Yellowstone’s wolf population to just 94 individuals.

Wolves were stripped of ESA protections in 2020 during the first Trump Administration due to pressure from the ranching industry, despite the fact that wolves killing sheep and cattle is exceedingly rare. Many ranchers in western states benefit from enormous profits gained by grazing their livestock on public lands, however, they often resist sharing this space with native species, regardless of the harmful ecological consequences of removing keystone species from their habitats.

Wolves pose no threat to humans, have minimal contact with commercially farmed animals, and play a vital role in maintaining balanced ecosystems in western landscapes. They also attract tourists from around the world to national parks, boosting local economies.

Unfortunately, misinformation about the dangers of wolves, combined with the greed of hunters and ranchers, has led to a string of state laws in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming that allow, in some cases, the unrestricted killing of wolves and their pups. These laws permit the use of cruel traps and inhumane hunting methods that cause immense suffering and prolonged deaths for these intelligent, social, and emotionally complex creatures.

In February 2022, a federal judge restored ESA protections for wolves in 44 U.S. states. However, wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountain region, where over 80% of the killings occur, remain unprotected. States like Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming have passed laws allowing hunters to kill up to 90% of their wolf populations.

If Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum were to listen to scientists and conservationists and do the right thing, he could restore ESA protections for gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountain region immediately, on an emergency basis. Please urge him to act now.