TAKE ACTION | Team Wolf

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TO DEMAND A NATIONAL WOLF RECOVERY PLAN

Send a letter to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum demanding that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) follow-through with their commitment to developing and publishing the much-needed National Wolf Recovery Plan—a roadmap that would ensure Gray Wolves are fully and sustainably recovered across the country.

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SUBMIT A PUBLIC COMMENT

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SUBMIT A PUBLIC COMMENT

Comment on the Trump Administration’s Attempt to Weaken Endangered Species Protections

The U.S. Department of the Interior announced new proposed rules that would roll back Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections reinstated under the Biden administration. These rules would restore Trump era policies on listing, delisting, and critical habitat–narrowing definitions that help protect vulnerable species and the places they need to survive.

The rules would let industry and corporate interests influence listing decisions, weaken safeguards for species threatened by climate change, and limit scientists’ ability to designate the habitat needed for recovery.

The Interior Department says these changes add clarity. In reality, they are a step backward and could be a death sentence for many vulnerable species. The ESA has prevented 99 percent of listed species from going extinct. Weakening it now risks undoing decades of progress and puts political and economic interests ahead of science.

The public comment period is open now until December 21. We encourage you to push back against this rollback by submitting a comment before the December 21 deadline. You can submit a comment by using the links below. See our full guide HERE.

FWS–HQ–ES–2025–0039:

Listing Endangered and Threatened Species and Designating Critical Habitat

Makes it harder to list Gray Wolves and easier to delist them, while reducing likelihood that critical habitat is designated for wolves.

TALKING POINTS

• Altering portions of Section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) would have serious negative impacts on Gray Wolves. • Under the proposed rule, these changes would make it easier to delist and harder to relist Gray Wolves, opening the door for increased vulnerability, more fragile populations, and inadequate recovery that is driven by political decisions rather than best available science. • Inconsistent management such as what is proposed under this rule disrupts ecosystems and creates negative domino effects on other flora and fauna that rely on this keystone species.

COMMENT NOW

FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0048:

Critical Habitat Exclusion Process

Dramatically expands FWS’s ability to exclude areas from critical habitat, especially when there are economic objections, energy-development concerns, or federal land users pushing for exclusion.

TALKING POINTS

• Altering portions of Section 4(b)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) would have serious negative implications for Gray Wolves. • Removing key provisions that would protect critical habitats from development, or other uses, greatly reduces the available habitats for Gray Wolves that help them thrive. • These critical habitats provide essential prey, shelter, and space for packs to grow, away from human activity and development that often threaten their survival. • As a keystone species, gray wolves play a crucial role in maintaining health, balance, and structure of our nation’s natural ecosystems.

COMMENT NOW

FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0044:

Interagency Cooperation

Makes consultation (considerations of harmful effects) less protective, making it easier for federal agencies to approve actions that harm wolves or degrade their habitat.

TALKING POINTS

• Revising portions of section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) would be detrimental to the existence of Gray Wolves. • Removing federal agency considerations from whether an action will harm endangered or threatened species, like the Gray Wolf, by opening the door for loopholes, reducing accountability and opening the doors for inconsistent application, and removing any precautionary measures from threatened and endangered species conservation.

COMMENT NOW

FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0029:

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants

Wolves will not automatically get full take protections when delisted, meaning states will have more flexibility with management decisions including increasing depredation shooting and expanded hunting zones.

TALKING POINTS

• Revising portions of section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), to remove the “blanket rule” option for protecting newly listed threatened species would be detrimental to species conservation, including that of the Gray Wolf. • This provision protects endangered species by default, and extends Section 9 unauthorized take protections to threatened species - reducing any lapses in protection and leading to less consistent and more vulnerable recovery protections.

COMMENT NOW