Federal Wildlife Officials Reject Gray Wolf Protections

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) will not re-list gray wolves as an endangered species in the Northern Rocky Mountains, despite requests from several conservation groups. The agency also said it will develop a first-ever national recovery plan for wolves, which are currently endangered in 44 states and threatened in Minnesota, with hunting allowed in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and parts of Oregon and Washington. The USFWS said there were around 2,800 wolves in the western US at the end of 2022, and that their population was "resilient". The decision was criticised by environmental groups including the Center for Biological Diversity and the Humane Society of the United States, which said the USFWS was "turning their backs" on wolves.