This week, the U.S. House of Representatives took a step towards delisting gray wolves from the endangered species list. Known as the “Pet and Livestock Protection Act,” HR 845 was passed by the House, and instructs “the Secretary of the Interior to reissue a rule delisting the species,” according to the Daily Montanan.

Introduced by Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert and co-sponsored by Montana Rep. Troy Downing, HR 845 has garnered both support and opposition with those in favor saying gray wolves have completely recovered.

Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke, who served as Interior Secretary during President Donald Trump’s first term and voted in favor of delisting the species, took to X to post the following statement: “The ESA was created to protect endangered animals, not to be weaponized for a radical agenda by activist judges. The last four administrations have all agreed that the gray wolf has recovered. Let’s follow the science and Montana’s lead and delist.” 

However, those against delisting worry it could have negative impacts and potentially wipe out the species again.

“Rep. Boebert’s bill is a deadly invitation to trophy hunt wolves to extinction,” said Stephanie Kurose, deputy director of government affairs at the Center for Biological Diversity, in a statement. “Stripping these amazing animals of protection while they’re still fighting to survive isn’t conservation, it’s cruelty. Wolves belong in the wild, not mounted on someone’s wall.”

The species was nearly eradicated in the 1970s, which prompted federal protections. In 2011, official management of the species was turned over to state agencies in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, as well as Oregon and Washington (for the eastern thirds of both states); however, gray wolves are still currently listed as a threatened species in Minnesota and endangered in the other 44 states.

The current population count, according to a 2022 FWS report, found approximately 2,797 wolves in the western U.S., with high concentrations in Montana and Idaho, as well as Wyoming, Oregon, and Washington. Colorado also continues with its voter-approved wolf reintroduction effort.

This isn’t the first time the push to delist wolves has happened under the Trump Administration. Back in 2020, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service moved to delist gray wolves before the decision was blocked by a federal judge who reversed the order in February 2022. 

The House bill now moves onto the U.S. Senate. It will need 60 votes to pass.

Stay tuned to GOHUNT for further updates.