Gray Wolf relisted under the Endangered Species Act in the lower-48 states following a federal court order

Image of GettyImages-1174643649.jpeg

On February 10, a federal judge vacated the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) 2020 rule to permanently delist the gray wolf under the Endangered Species Act. As a result of the ruling, the gray wolf is protected under the ESA in the lower-48 states excluding Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and parts of Oregon, Washington and Utah. The judge’s decision cites that FWS “failed to adequately analyze and consider the impacts of partial delisting and historical range loss on the already-listed species.” For more information on FWS implementation of the ruling, click here.

FWS began the process of delisting gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains in 2011, and after litigation in federal court, eventually turned population management over to the affected states. After an extensive five-year federal monitoring period, population management has completely been turned over to most of these states, except for Wyoming, where lawsuits delayed the implementation of the federal monitoring period until 2017. In 2021, FWS upheld the decision to permanently delist the gray wolf following a review of the 2020 rule under Executive Order 13990.

As intergovernmental partners in wildlife and natural resource management, counties have a particular interest in the implementation of environmental statutes like the ESA. Counties recognize the importance of the ESA as an essential safeguard for America’s fish, wildlife and plants. They also serve as key partners alongside federal and state agencies in implementing ESA regulations and recovery plans. NACo supports updating and improving the ESA to better achieve its objectives, such as the delisting of a species when recovery goals are met.

Tagged In:

Related News

bike
Advocacy

U.S. Department of the Interior announces PILT funding of $644.8 million to be distributed to counties

On June 24, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) announced that over 1,900 state and local governments nationwide will receive $644.8 million in Payments in Lieu of Taxes program (PILT) funding for 2025. A complete list of funding by state and county is available here. You can also check NACo’s County Explorer for detailed county-by-county information on 2024 PILT funding levels.

Bureau of Land Management Acting Director John Raby speaks to the WIR Board of Directors during the 2025 NACo Legislative Conference in March. He addressed a workshop remotely during the 2025 WIR Conference in Pennington County, S.D. in May. Photo by Denny Henry
County News

BLM, HUD target public lands for housing

A multi-agency push could open up hundreds of thousands of BLM acres near towns and cities to development for attainable housing.

The Western Interstate Region Executive Committee meets for the first time in 2025 during the WIR Conference in Pennington County, S.D.. From left: Immediate Past President John Espy, Carbon County, Wyo.; President John Peters, Mono County, Calif.; Dwayne McFall, Fremont County, Colo. and Second Vice President Derrick DeGroot, Klamath County, Ore. Photo by Rebecca DeWitt
County News

WIR grows membership, offerings in South Dakota

Members of NACo’s Western Interstate Region learned about and fueled the work being done by the National Center for Public Lands Counties at the WIR Conference in Pennington County, S.D.