A coalition of environmental and wildlife advocacy groups filed suit against the Trump administration over the decision to remove the gray wolf from Endangered Species Protections. Back in October, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lifted protection for the wolves in the continental U.S.
The only exception is a small population of Mexican gray wolves in Arizona and Mexico. The decision brought 45 years of protections to an end for the wolves. The agency determined that the species was no longer endangered. The Hill Dot Com says protecting the species is now up to individual states, many of which will likely allow gray wolf hunting.
Last Thursday, six environmental groups, including the Humane Society of the United States, filed a lawsuit challenging the delisting, arguing that the delisting is premature as the species hasn’t fully recovered in a big part of its former range across the United States.
“We hope this lawsuit finally sets the wolf on a path to true recovery,” says Collette Adkins, carnivore conservation director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Restoring federal protection would allow further recovery in places like California, which is now home to just a single pack of wolves.” More than 6,000 gray wolves live in the continental U.S., including over 4,000 in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.