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Bill Passes House of Representatives to End Federal Protections for Gray Wolves
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Outdoor Life, Approved, National

Bill Passes House of Representatives to End Federal Protections for Gray Wolves

By Kris Millgate | Outdoor Life The bill, known as the Pet and Livestock Protection Act, seeks to delist gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act Gray wolves in the Lower 48 have bounced on and off the Endangered Species Act list for years now. And on Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would remove federal protections yet again and bring wolf management back to the states. The Pet and Livestock Protection Act cleared the House by a vote of 211 to 204. The bill, sponsored by Reps. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO), aims to delist the populations of gray wolves that remain protected under the ESA in 44 states. The species is already delisted in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, as well as in the eastern thirds of Oregon and...
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CPW Responds to Claims It Violated Federal Guidelines in Wolf Transfer From Canada
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

CPW Responds to Claims It Violated Federal Guidelines in Wolf Transfer From Canada

By: Karen Morfitt | CBS Colorado Updated on: November 13, 2025 / 9:24 PM MST / CBS Colorado Colorado Parks and Wildlife is moving forward with their wolf reintroduction plan even as they face additional challenges around where the wolves will come from. This comes after a former U.S. representative for Colorado who, along with other stakeholders, raised concerns that CPW may have violated state law by importing wolves from Canada. "I would say that no one has the authority to violate the Endangered Species Act. Section 9 clearly states that it is a violation of the Act to import wolves into the United States," said Lopez in a statement to CBS Colorado. "Section 10 requires the Secretary of the Interior to issue an exemption to Section 9 by publishing that exempti...
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Study Finds Wolves Cut Ranch Income Nearly 30 Percent
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American Farm Bureau, Approved, National

Study Finds Wolves Cut Ranch Income Nearly 30 Percent

By: Daniel Munch | American Farm Bureau While the expansion of gray and Mexican gray wolf populations is often hailed as a conservation success, the consequences for ranching families can be gruesome, costly and complex - threatening the safety of ranch families and their pets and livestock, as well as the long-term survival of multigenerational ranches and the rural economies they anchor. Focusing on the Mexican gray wolf, a recent University of Arizona study analyzes both direct livestock depredation and indirect effects such as stress-induced weight loss and elevated management costs based on 2024 cattle prices. Findings are based on survey responses from impacted ranchers, modeling of herd-level financial outcome and county-level livestock performance trends. In areas w...
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Colorado Wolf Reintroduction May Have Violated Federal Law
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Wolf Reintroduction May Have Violated Federal Law

By: Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado A plan to import 15 more wolves to Colorado from Canada may violate federal law.  Wolves are listed as an endangered species here, so Colorado Parks and Wildlife needs a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to relocate wolves here from other states. The permit issued by USFWS in 2023 lists six states where Colorado can source wolves. It doesn't list Canada, where CPW got 15 wolves last year and plans to get another 15 wolves this year. Former congressman and current gubernatorial candidate Greg Lopez says USFWS dropped the ball by allowing CPW to import wolves from Canada, which he says is a clear violation of its federal permit.  "The terms and conditions are that they can only get wolves from the Northern Rocky Mountains. They...
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From Colorado to California wolf conflicts fuel push to delist
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Grand View Outdoors, Approved, National

From Colorado to California wolf conflicts fuel push to delist

By RMEF Staff | Grand View Outdoors As new wolf packs kill livestock in Colorado and California, support grows to delist wolves nationwide. Wolves released by way of a controversial ballot initiative in Colorado, opposed by RMEF, have experienced a rocky start, creating headaches for wildlife managers and ranchers alike and seeing mortalities in their ranks.  In late August 2024, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) announced it was trying to capture and relocate wolves from the Copper Creek wolf pack, which formed from animals CPW released in Grand County in December 2023. Months later, the pack had killed nine cattle and an equal number of sheep.   In early September 2024, CPW announced that wildlife managers had captured the two adult wolves and four pups that ma...
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Wolf removal risks ESA 10(j) protections, Director Davis says at special CPW commission meeting
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Wolf removal risks ESA 10(j) protections, Director Davis says at special CPW commission meeting

By Stephanie Butzer , Colette Bordelon | Denver7 Denver7 listened into Monday's special CPW Commission meeting about the wolf pack's recent depredations and future. The Copper Creek Pack in Pitkin County was in the spotlight during a special meeting of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) Commission on Monday afternoon, where the commission solidified its decision not to direct CPW to take any action on the wolf pack for now, saying it is outside the commission's responsibilities. The CPW Commission held the special meeting virtually, which began around 12:30 p.m. and lasted for about two hours. Public comment was not included in the agenda, something producers who spoke with Denver7 felt was lacking from the conversation. New CPW Commission Chair Richard Readin...
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Gazette editorial board: Congress should back Boebert’s bill to delist gray wolves—rural livelihoods matter
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denvergazette.com, Approved, National

Gazette editorial board: Congress should back Boebert’s bill to delist gray wolves—rural livelihoods matter

The Gazette editorial board | Commentary, Denver Gazette Congress should pass U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert’s Pet and Livestock Protection Act of 2025, which would remove the gray wolf from the federal Endangered Species Act. This bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Tom Tiffany and Colorado’s Republican delegation — Reps. Jeff Crank, Gabe Evans, and Jeff Hurd — addresses a critical imbalance: protecting a thriving species at the expense of Colorado’s endangered farmers and ranchers. The gray wolf’s recovery is a success story, and delisting it federally is a step toward prioritizing human livelihoods while maintaining state-level management. The gray wolf, listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1978 when fewer than 1,000 roamed the lower 48 states, has rebounded impressively. By 2020, the U...
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“Too many wolves”: Congress and DOI signal shift on gray wolf policy
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Top Stories, Approved, National, Rocky Mountain Voice

“Too many wolves”: Congress and DOI signal shift on gray wolf policy

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice At a House Natural Resources Committee hearing last week, frustration among ranchers, landowners and state officials across the West boiled over. What followed wasn’t just venting—it was a coordinated push by lawmakers and the Interior Department to delist the gray wolf and rein in the Endangered Species Act’s long hold on predator policy. “The ESA was never meant to be a Hotel California—where you can check in but never leave,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, borrowing a now-familiar line from Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman to describe how species once listed rarely come off. “We’ve far exceeded the original goals… in some cases by more than twofold.” Burgum’s comments came in response to multiple lawmakers from Colorado, Cal...
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Sixth wolf death of 2025 confirmed—CPW says ‘wolf population will continue to grow’
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Approved, DENVER7, State

Sixth wolf death of 2025 confirmed—CPW says ‘wolf population will continue to grow’

By Stephanie Butzer | Denver7 Another gray wolf that was brought to Colorado as part of the state's reintroduction program has died, Colorado and federal officials said on Monday afternoon. In a press release on Monday, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) said they received a mortality alert for a male wolf in northwest Colorado on May 31. The wolf had been brought to Colorado from Canada as part of the January 2025 reintroduction, CPW confirmed to Denver7. It is the fifth wolf from the original 15 released that month that has died. As with any wolf death in Colorado, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating because gray wolves are a federally listed species under the Endangered Species Act. The USFWS will determine its cause of death. That investigation is ongoing. ...
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Rep LaMalfa takes aim at Endangered Species Act: ‘Species of the week’ halting real conservation
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Approved, DC News Now, National

Rep LaMalfa takes aim at Endangered Species Act: ‘Species of the week’ halting real conservation

By Maddie Biertempfel | DC News Now WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Recovering animals that are nearing extinction, like the black-footed ferret, was the whole point of the 1973 Endangered Species Act but some lawmakers say it needs to be reformed. “Is the program working as designed 50 years ago?'” Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) asked. “No, it’s been interpreted way beyond that, where it isn’t just the species, but they want to have every ounce of possible habitat as they determine is critical habitat.” California Republican Congressman Doug LaMalfa says the law has hindered new infrastructure and doing things like controlled burns, aimed at preventing larger fires and ultimately helping habitats. “Instead, like in forestry, we end up with million-acre fires, 500,000-acre fires year afte...
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