VICTORY: Can you hear the howling? Earthjustice lawsuit restores ESA protections for wolves.

 

Earthjustice lawsuit restores Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves across 44 states! LEARN MORE   Gray wolves are back on a path to recovery after a federal district court struck down a 2020 decision by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that delisted gray wolves after 45 years of protections under the Endangered Species Act. Wolves need federal protection, period. We know what happens when wolves aren’t protected by federal law — some states allow people to relentlessly hunt them down and kill them. In February of 2021, after gray wolves were delisted, hunters in Wisconsin slaughtered more than 218 wolves in just three days. On behalf of six environmental groups, we sued the federal government for failing to protect gray wolves, and we just won federal protections back for the species in 44 states! The return of federal protections is particularly important where I live in the Pacific Northwest, as wolves are just beginning to recover in Washington, Oregon, and northern California and need all the protection they can get. But our work is not done. Due to a series of administrative and legislative maneuvers, wolves lack federal protections in the Northern Rockies and are under attack as never before, with wolves being baited and trapped and some being killed just outside Yellowstone National Park. We are calling for Secretary Haaland and President Biden to reinstate federal Endangered Species Act protections for the species in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Wolves are crucial to the health of the ecosystems they occupy. They sit at the top of the food chain and make sure that populations of their prey (and their prey’s prey) remain at healthy levels. When wolves were driven to near extinction, negative side effects cascaded down the food chain, upsetting delicate ecological balances. Amid a biodiversity crisis, wolves are a necessary keystone species whose presence helps the entire ecosystem. This victory would not have been possible without you. We have fought for real, nationwide wolf recovery for over three decades and will continue to protect this essential keystone species’ right to survival.   . Sincerely, Kristen Boyles Managing Attorney of Northwest Regional Office

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