DULUTH – A federal judge in California ruled Thursday that gray wolves in most of the United States – including Minnesota and Wisconsin – are again protected under the federal endangered species law, reversing the last year’s decision by the Trump administration to return the management of wolves to individual states. .
In a 25-page decision, Judge Jeffrey White ruled in favor of Defenders of Wildlife, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Humane Society of the United States and other groups, finding that the US Fish & Wildlife Service acted mistakenly to remove federal protections for wolves. last November.
The groups had argued that several states were moving too quickly and too bloodthirsty to cull wolves again with excessive hunting and trapping seasons, including Wisconsin’s February 2021 season in which 218 wolves were killed in less than 72 hours, nearly double the 119-wolf quota set by the state for non-native hunters and trappers. The groups said state wildlife agencies have shown they cannot be trusted to prevent wolves from sliding back into endangered status.
The decision also faulted the federal agency for a number of legal and scientific errors, including its failure to assess threats to wolves throughout their range and not just where they are currently abundant.
Wisconsin’s plans to open a second hunt last fall had been temporarily blocked by a state judge, but future hunting seasons there and elsewhere were likely at the state’s discretion. With federal Endangered Species Act protections for wolves, hunting is once again banned in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and most other states where wolves roam. The exception is the Northern Rockies wolf population which remains unprotected, though the federal government under the Biden administration is already examining whether aggressive wolf destruction laws passed by Idaho and Montana are also a reason. to re-register the wolves there.
“This is a huge victory for gray wolves and the many people across the country who care so deeply about them,” said Collette Adkins, Minnesota-based director of carnivore conservation at the Center for Biological Diversity, in a statement. “I hope this decision finally convinces the Fish and Wildlife Service to abandon its longstanding and misguided efforts to remove federal wolf protections. Instead, the agency should work to restore these large, ecologically important carnivores to places like the southern Rockies and the northeastern United States.
Wisconsin estimates that about 1,100 wolves roam the upstate. Minnesota has about 2,700 wolves, mostly in the northern third of the state. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is currently rewriting a state wolf management plan, but any effort for a Minnesota hunting or trapping season is now prohibited under federal protection. Minnesota’s wolves had been federally listed as threatened before their delisting, which allowed for deadly wolf management efforts by federal trappers near where pets and livestock were killed. This practice, which kills around 200 wolves each year, is expected to continue.
“For too long, the federal government has made decisions about the fate of Gray Wolves based on political pressure from special interest groups, disregarding the very clear science that shows federal protections are necessary to allow this iconic species to recover and thrive,” said Sara Amundson, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund, in a statement. “Today’s decision is a fantastic victory, and it shows the Fish and Wildlife Service that it needs to stop making politically motivated decisions when it comes to the very survival of species. We urge the agency to use the court’s decision today to inform all of its choices about the future of gray wolves and to immediately restore federal protections for gray wolves in the northern Rockies as well.
The federal government has 60 days to appeal the court’s decision.
John Myers reports on the outdoors, the environment and natural resources for the Duluth News Tribune. He can be reached at
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