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us fish and wildlife service
Judge Rules Rocky Mountain Wolves Wrongly Denied Endangered Species Protections
One advocate said the ruling "offers hope that we can restore protections to wolves in the northern Rockies, but only if the federal government fulfills its duty under the Endangered Species Act."
Aug 05, 2025
Conservationists cautiously celebrated a U.S. judge's Tuesday ruling that the federal government must reconsider its refusal to grant protections for gray wolves in the Rocky Mountains, as killing regimes in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming put the species at risk.
Former President Joe Biden's administration determined last year that Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for the region's wolves were "not warranted," sparking multiple lawsuits from coalitions of conservation groups. The cases were consolidated and considered by Montana-based District Judge Donald Molloy, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton.
As the judge detailed in his 105-page decision, the advocacy groups argued that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) failed to consider a "significant portion" of the gray wolf's range, the "best available science" on their populations and the impact of humans killing them, and the true threat to the species. He also wrote that "for the most part, the plaintiffs are correct."
Matthew Bishop, senior attorney at the Western Environmental Law Center (WELC), which represented one of the coalitions, said in a statement that "the Endangered Species Act requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to consider the best available science, and that requirement is what won the day for wolves in this case."
"Wolves have yet to recover across the West, and allowing a few states to undertake aggressive wolf-killing regimes is inconsistent with the law," Bishop continued. "We hope this decision will encourage the service to undertake a holistic approach to wolf recovery in the West."
Coalition members similarly welcomed Molloy's decision as "an important step toward finally ending the horrific and brutal war on wolves that the states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming have waged in recent years," in the words of George Nickas, executive director of Wilderness Watch.
Predator Defense executive director Brooks Fahy said that "today's ruling is an incredible victory for wolves. At a time where their numbers are being driven down to near extinction levels, this decision is a vital lifeline."
Patrick Kelly, Montana director for Western Watersheds Project, pointed out that "with Montana set to approve a 500 wolf kill quota at the end of August, this decision could not have come at a better time. Wolves may now have a real shot at meaningful recovery."
Breaking news! A federal judge in Missoula ruled USFWS broke the law when it denied protections for gray wolves in the western U.S. The agency must now reconsider using the best available science. A major step forward for wolf recovery.Read more: 🔗 wildearthguardians.org/press-releas...
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— Wolf Conservation Center 🐺 (@nywolforg.bsky.social) August 5, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Sierra Club northern Rockies campaign strategist Nick Gevock said that "wolf recovery is dependent on responsible management by the states, and Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming have shown that they're grossly unsuited to manage the species."
Gevock's group is part of a coalition represented by the Center for Biological Diversity and Humane World for Animals, formerly called the Humane Society of the United States. Kitty Block, president and CEO of the latter, said Tuesday that "wolves are deeply intelligent, social animals who play an irreplaceable role in the ecosystems they call home."
"Today's ruling offers hope that we can restore protections to wolves in the northern Rockies, but only if the federal government fulfills its duty under the Endangered Species Act," Block stressed. "These animals deserve protection, not abandonment, as they fight to return to the landscapes they once roamed freely.
While "Judge Molloy's ruling means now the Fish and Wildlife Service must go back to the drawing board to determine whether federal management is needed to ensure wolves survive and play their vital role in the ecosystem," as Gevock put it, the agency may also appeal his decision.
The original rejection came under Biden, but the reconsideration will occur under President Donald Trump, whose first administration was hostile to the ESA in general and wolves in particular. The current administration and the Republican-controlled Congress have signaled in recent months that they intend to maintain that posture.
WELC highlighted Tuesday that Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) "introduced H.R. 845 to strip ESA protections from gray wolves across the Lower 48. If passed, this bill would congressionally delist all gray wolves in the Lower 48 the same way wolves in the northern Rockies were congressionally delisted in 2011, handing management authority over to states."
Emphasizing what that would mean for the species, WELC added that "regulations in Montana, for example, allow hunters and trappers to kill several hundred wolves per year—with another 500-wolf quota proposed this year—with bait, traps, snares, night hunting, infrared and thermal imagery scopes, and artificial light."
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'A Wake-Up Call': 21 Species Declared Extinct by US
"It's a wake-up call on the importance of conserving imperiled species before it's too late," said the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Oct 17, 2023
"My heart breaks," one biodiversity advocate said Monday as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that 21 species would be removed from the endangered species list due to their extinction.
The agency said it had conducted "rigorous reviews of the best available science" and determined that the animal species are no longer in existence, having been protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) starting in the 1970s and '80s, when they were already in very low numbers—or potentially already extinct in some cases.
"These plants and animals can never be brought back," said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD). "We absolutely must do everything we can to avert the loss of even more threads in our web of life."
CBD noted that human exploitation of wildlife and the resulting spread of invasive species was directly linked to at least one of the species losses.
Eight types of the Hawaiian honeycreeper bird species are among the extinct animals, after "their forest habitats were razed by development and agriculture," said CBD.
"The introduction to the islands of mosquitoes, which are not native and carry both avian pox and avian malaria, provided the nail in the coffin," said the group. "Now several other native Hawaiian birds are on the brink, including the 'akikiki, which is down to as few as five pairs in the wild because climate change is allowing mosquitoes to reach further up into their mountain habitat."
Martha Williams, director of the FWS, said federal protections "came too late to reverse these species' decline."
"It's a wake-up call on the importance of conserving imperiled species before it's too late," said Williams. "As we commemorate 50 years of the Endangered Species Act this year, we are reminded of the Act's purpose to be a safety net that stops the journey toward extinction. The ultimate goal is to recover these species."
Other bird species that the FWS confirmed as extinct include the Bachman's warbler and the bridled white-eye. The Little Mariana fruit bat was also delisted as well as at least two fish species—the San Marcos gambusia and the Scioto madtom—and eight freshwater mussel species.
"It's not too late to stop more plants and animals from going extinct, but we have to act fast," said Greenwald.
The FWS noted that the ESA has been credited with saving 99% of listed species from becoming extinct, with more than 100 plant and animal species being delisted and reclassified due to recovery and improved conservation status.
"Extinction is a very real and permanent consequence of leaving the joint biodiversity and climate crises unhindered," said Lindsay Rosa, vice president of conservation research and innovation at Defenders of Wildlife. "It is also a reminder to support the greatest tool we have in the fight against species loss—the Endangered Species Act. Many of these species were added to the Endangered Species Act when they were too far gone to truly benefit from its life-saving protections."
"This announcement reinforces the need for fully funding the Act so that future species listings aren't delayed or falling through the cracks."
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Biodiversity Group Wins Deal With Biden Admin to Protect Wildlife From Pesticides
"For over a decade, federal agencies have ignored how spraying pesticides into the water harms bull trout, pallid sturgeon, and dozens of other protected species," said one advocate. "That changes today."
Aug 01, 2023
The Center for Biological Diversity said Tuesday that a legal agreement it has reached with two federal agencies will help mitigate damage done to wildlife in United States waterways, where endangered species have been harmed over the past decade by the government's failure to assess the environmental impact of pesticide applications.
Under the deal, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) must complete assessments under the Endangered Species Act to ensure wildlife is protected from the spraying of pesticides.
According to CBD, the FWS and EPA have both failed to conduct endangered species consultations in recent years before issuing a nationwide pesticide general permit, which the EPA issues every five years.
The permit establishes requirements for the spraying of pesticides directly into waterways to control mosquito populations, aquatic weeds, and forest canopy pests.
"This agreement is important progress for improving the health of our rivers and streams and the incredible critters that rely on them."
CBD filed a lawsuit in 2021 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, arguing that the EPA had failed to assess the impact on wildlife when it issued the permit that year and in 2016 when the previous permit was approved.
The group said Tuesday that the FWS has also failed to conduct assessments "in three previous instances... even when requested [to] by the EPA."
"For over a decade, federal agencies have ignored how spraying pesticides into the water harms bull trout, pallid sturgeon, and dozens of other protected species. That changes today," said Hannah Connor, an attorney at CBD. "This victory will help endangered species across the country, along with the rivers and streams we all depend on."
The U.S. Geological Survey showed in 2021 that on average, 17 pesticides were found at least once in 74 river and stream sites that were sampled 12-24 times per year between 2013 and 2017.
According to Beyond Pesticides, pesticide exposure is linked to cancer, hormonal disruption, reproductive problems, liver and kidney damage, and other health issues in a wide range of species. Reproductive deformations have been detected in frogs and fish in rivers throughout the U.S. after exposure to pesticides.
The agreement requires the FWS to complete consultations on the impact to endangered wildlife before the next permit is finalized, no later than 2025. The EPA will also be required to take additional steps to improve pollution monitoring under the Clean Water Act to protect freshwater species from pesticide applications prior to the next pesticide general permit.
"This agreement is important progress for improving the health of our rivers and streams and the incredible critters that rely on them," said Connor in a statement. "My hope is that it will be a wake-up call for the Fish and Wildlife Service to fully embrace its critical role in preventing harm from pesticides to protected species."
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