WASHINGTON – On April 8, 2025, The Wild Hunt reported on the genetic modification of a gray wolf to produce a “dire wolf” hybrid. The following day, the innocuously named “Pet and Livestock Protection Act of 2025” (PALPA, H.R. 845) passed the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources by a vote of 24–17, advancing to the House floor for further consideration.
PALPA is just one sentence long: “Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary of the Interior shall reissue the final rule entitled ‘Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removing the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) From the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife’ and published on November 3, 2020 (85 Fed. Reg. 69778).” The bill removes the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List, emphasizing support for the agricultural sector and granting states the authority to manage their own wolf populations. It also limits judicial review, effectively preventing court challenges to the delisting.
A North American wolf [This image originates from the National Digital Library of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service – Public Domain
The bill was introduced on January 31, 2025, by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO-4) and Rep. Thomas Tiffany (R-WI-7) and is co-sponsored by 31 Republican House members. It responds to a 2022 federal court ruling that reinstated Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves. In that case, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White found that the Trump administration’s 2020 decision to delist the species focused only on populations in the Great Lakes and Northern Rockies while ignoring ongoing threats in other regions.
The ruling reestablished protections in 44 states, excluding Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming—where wolves had already been delisted by Congress—and New Mexico, where protections were never removed. Just days prior to the ruling, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland published an op-ed mourning the gray wolf’s continued vulnerability.
Recent wolf hunts have underscored these concerns. In Wisconsin, hunters killed 218 wolves in a single season, far exceeding the state’s 119-wolf limit. Yellowstone National Park officials reported that 20 wolves were shot after roaming beyond park boundaries—the highest number in 25 years.
Range of the CAnis lupsu: via Boitani, L., Phillips, M. & Jhala, Y. 2023. Canis lupus (amended version of 2018 assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2023. CC0
Environmental advocates applauded the reinstated protections. Jamie Rappaport Clark of Defenders of Wildlife called the ruling “a significant victory,” emphasizing the importance of federal oversight for species recovery. Kristen Boyles, an attorney with Earthjustice, criticized the Biden administration for defending the Trump-era policy, calling it a betrayal of legal and treaty obligations.
In contrast, hunting rights advocates expressed frustration. Hunter Nation—a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that advocates for hunting rights, wildlife management, and the preservation of traditional American values, serves to “will defend all of our Traditional American Values of God, Family, Country, and our Nation’s Constitution” —accused “activist judges” of undermining state-level wildlife management.
Montana and Idaho, where wolves have remained delisted for more than a decade, have aggressively expanded hunting methods, including snares, extended trapping seasons, night hunts, and bounties—practices critics argue endanger wolf populations.
Hunter Nation also denounced the Biden administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for deciding not to change the gray wolf’s ESA status. When USFWS announced its decision to maintain protections until at least September 2025, it cited ongoing legal battles—five of six prior delisting rules had been overturned in court over the past two decades.
“I’m very excited to see PALPA take another step toward being signed into law, which will be a huge victory for our ranchers, farmers, and landowners in Colorado and across America,” said Rep. Boebert in a statement. “The science has been very clear on this topic for years: gray wolves are fully recovered and their comeback should be touted as a success story. Now it’s time we encourage states to set their own guidelines and allow ranchers, farmers, and landowners to protect their livelihoods. I look forward to voting for this bill on the House floor and ultimately getting it to President Trump for his signature.”
Hunter Nation also praised the committee’s passage of PALPA and thanked Boebert and Tiffany for supporting hunters and the “hunting lifestyle.” “The delisting of the gray wolf is a policy change we’ve championed since our founding,” said Keith Mark, President and Founder of Hunter Nation. “This legislation empowers each state to manage its recovered wolf population just like other wildlife. One of the most important provisions is the bar on judicial review, which prevents anti-hunting groups from using activist judges to interfere with sound, science-based conservation.”
In a press release, Rep. Tiffany added, “The damage to pets, livestock, and wildlife from an unmanaged wolf population can no longer be ignored. The gray wolf has exceeded federal and state recovery goals, with over 1,000 wolves now thriving in Wisconsin. It’s time to take the next step, delist them, and let the people closest to the gray wolf manage their population levels.”
The National Wildlife Federation emphasizes that the gray wolf’s story is among the most compelling in American wildlife history. Once nearly eradicated through habitat loss and overhunting, the species has made a slow but meaningful comeback in parts of its former range, thanks to strong conservation efforts. As a keystone species, the gray wolf is vital to the health and balance of ecosystems.
Currently, gray wolf hunting is illegal in most of the U.S. under reinstated federal protections. However, it remains legal in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming—where wolves are managed by state authorities—and in Alaska, which has never listed the species under the ESA.
In Montana, new legislation introduced this year would extend wolf hunting through the spring bear season and allow the use of thermal and infrared scopes. “Different management techniques may be used,” said Montana State Rep. Paul Fielder (R-HD13). “We have to use the most aggressive, most workable harvest techniques.”
These state bills are currently stalled, as opponents raise concerns that expanded hunting during denning season could endanger nursing mothers and pups.
The Wild Hunt is not responsible for links to external content.
To join a conversation on this post:
Visit our The Wild Hunt subreddit! Point your favorite browser to https://www.reddit.com/r/The_Wild_Hunt_News/, then click “JOIN”. Make sure to click the bell, too, to be notified of new articles posted to our subreddit.