Trump Administration Orders Review of Gray Wolf Protections Under Endangered Species Act

On Friday, President Donald Trump issued an executive order instructing the Interior Department to evaluate removing gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act and to explore ways to simplify authorization for their lethal control.

The directive gives Interior Secretary Doug Burgum a 90‑day window to assess whether gray wolves and Mexican gray wolves have met recovery thresholds that would warrant federal delisting.

Although the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, part of the Interior Department, previously tried to delist the gray wolf, that effort remains stalled in court. A 2022 federal ruling continues to keep the species protected under the ESA throughout most of the contiguous United States.

The primary exception occurs in the northern Rocky Mountain states—Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming—where wolf management is handled by the states. In Minnesota, wolves are listed as “threatened” instead of “endangered.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has not yet pursued delisting for the Mexican gray wolf, a rare subspecies reintroduced to New Mexico and Arizona in 1998.

Under the existing recovery plan, federal officials may consider delisting Mexican gray wolves only after the population averages above 320 individuals for four consecutive years. Arizona and New Mexico recorded 319 wolves at the close of 2025, marking the first year that officials can begin tracking toward that threshold.

Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity warns that Mexican gray wolves also suffer from severe genetic bottlenecks, and that premature delisting would almost certainly provoke legal challenges from conservation organizations.

“We will oppose every step with data and science,” Robinson stated. “Science must remain the foundation of any decision.”

The order also instructs federal agencies to encourage states to lift gray‑wolf protections and relax local rules governing wolf take.

Environmental organizations swiftly condemned the directive.

“Once again, this administration is trying to sidestep the safeguards of foundational environmental statutes such as the Endangered Species Act to carve out exemptions for industry and divert attention from unpopular policies,” remarked Leia Barnett, New Mexico conservation lead for WildEarth Guardians.

“Pressuring states through federal agencies to retreat from their own wildlife safeguards is not merely poor policy; it is an effort to circumvent the congressional framework designed to keep species‑recovery decisions free from political influence.”

Historically, the federal government conducted widespread trapping and killing of wolves from the late 1800s into the early 1900s, driving the species toward extinction in the lower 48 states primarily to shield livestock.

Ranchers continue to regard wolves as a threat to their thin profit margins. The order fits within a broader initiative intended to safeguard ranchers and U.S. beef production.

Trump implied that the order would simplify wolf shooting, even though the majority of wolves remain under federal protection.

At the signing event, Trump asked an Arizona rancher, “Can you shoot them starting today?” while referencing Mexican gray wolves.

The remark elicited laughter, and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins replied that Interior Secretary Burgum “would have to work a bit of magic, but yes.”

Under the Endangered Species Act, gray wolves remain protected across most of their range in the contiguous United States, rendering their killing a federal offense in most circumstances, irrespective of Trump’s directive.

Trump revisited the topic at the ceremony, when a Washington rancher described local difficulties with wolves, citing an incident where a pack forced a young girl to climb a tree for safety.

“You’re permitted to handle it,” Trump told the rancher.

“If you say so, sir,” the rancher responded.

“We have no alternative,” Trump said. “I’ve heard these concerns for a long time.”

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