A federal judge on Thursday restored Endangered Species Act protections for most wolves in the United States, but not those in Yellowstone/NPS file, Jacob W. Frank

A federal judge on Thursday restored Endangered Species Act protections for the gray wolf across much of the country, ruling that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2020 removed the protections based on two core populations of the canid, not on the species' status in a significant portion of its historic range and did not consider whether that range was needed to achieve full recovery.

In his 26-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White agreed with the plaintiffs that the Fish and Wildlife Service failed to "assess the ESA’s threat factors for West Coast wolves or wolves in the Central Rocky Mountains," and instead focused only on wolves in the Northern Rockies and the Great Lakes regions.

"However, similar to its previous rulemaking, the Service did not adequately consider threats to wolves outside of these core populations," wrote White. "Instead, the Service avoids analyzing these wolves by concluding, with little explanation or analysis, that wolves outside of the core populations are not necessary to the recovery of the species."

The ruling comes in the wake of the loss of 20 Yellowstone National Park wolves that were gunned down by Montana hunters once they left the park. However, the ruling does not apply to the Northern Rockies wolf population, which includes the Yellowstone wolves, as Congress in 2011 removed its protected status.

“The nation has witnessed the brutality that happens when 'management' of wolves is returned to anti-wolf states like Montana and Idaho, which have implemented an aggressive eradication agenda, including surrounding Yellowstone National Park,” said Lindsay Larris, wildlife program director at WildEarth Guardians. “Restoring federal Endangered Species Act protections for wolves is essential to their recovery throughout their historic range, so while we are thankful for this ruling, we also call on Secretary Deb Haaland to issue emergency relisting protections for the Northern Rockies wolf population to halt the senseless slaughter taking place.”

Haaland earlier this week wrote an Op-Ed piece in which she spoke out in support of wolves -- "In many tribes, they are honored in traditional ceremonies and revered in storytelling. Even today, I feel the embrace of my ancestors reminding me why our nonhuman relatives deserve respect – because the creator put them here to live." -- yet she did not specifically order or call for any change in how they were managed on public lands. She did note, though, that the Fish and Wildlife Service was re-evaluating whether gray wolves in the Northern Rockies needed ESA protections.

"Recent laws passed in some Western states undermine state wildlife managers by promoting precipitous reductions in wolf populations, such as removing bag limits, baiting, snaring, night hunting and pursuit by dogs – the same kind of practices that nearly wiped out wolves during the last century," the Interior secretary wrote. "In response, last September the Fish and Wildlife Service began a 12-month analysis to determine, guided by science and the law, whether reinstating ESA protections is warranted."

Conservation groups maintain it is.

“For far too long the federal government has made decisions about the fate of gray wolves based on political pressure from special interest groups, failing to heed the very clear science which shows that federal protections are necessary to allow this iconic species to recover and thrive,” said Sara Amundson, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. “Today’s decision is a fantastic victory, and it shows the Fish and Wildlife Service that they must stop making politically motivated decisions when it comes to the very survival of species. We urge the agency to use the court’s decision today to inform all of their choices about gray wolves moving forward and to immediately restore federal protections for gray wolves in the Northern Rockies as well.”

According to recent numbers from the Fish and Wildlife Service, there are an estimated 132 wolves in Washington state, 173 in Oregon (with only 19 outside of northeastern Oregon), and fewer than about 20 in California. Nevada, Utah, and Colorado have had a few wolf sightings over the past three years, but wolves remain functionally absent from their historical habitat in these states. In 2020, Colorado voters directed the state to reintroduce wolves by 2023.

“The science is clear that gray wolves have not yet recovered in the western U.S. By design, the Endangered Species Act does not provide the federal government the discretion to forsake Western wolf recovery in some regions due to progress in other parts of the country,” said Kelly Nokes, Western Environmental Law Center attorney. “Today’s decision will bolster recovery of Western wolves – a keystone species wherever they exist – and improve ecosystem health more broadly.”

At the Natural Resources Defense Council, Dr. Sylvia Fallon, the organizaton's senior director of wildlife, called the judge's ruling "a great win for wolves as the courts, once again, side with science over politics.”

“The Service has sought every legal loophole they could find to avoid putting forward a national plan to recover the species, and they have been slapped down repeatedly," she said. "It is well past time for the Service to do what it was required by law to do from the start and develop a science-based plan to recover one of the most iconic species in North America. This decision restores critical protections for wolves across much of the country. But in the Northern Rockies, wolves continue to be targeted by aggressive state hunting and trapping regulations. The Service should step in with protections for all wolves across the Lower-48 while developing a plan to ensure the long-term survival of this species."

At the National Parks Conservation Association, Bart Melton, the group's wildlife program director, said that, "[I]n a year where many wolves have been killed near national parks, today’s decision provides tremendous hope for the future of these animals. Wolves are an iconic species and a key part of many national park ecosystems. As wolves continue to return to national park landscapes, this decision will provide protections for them for generations to come.”

Groups that brought the action against the Fish and Wildlife Service included WildEarth Guardians, Western Watersheds Project, Cascadia Wildlands, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC), The Lands Council, Wildlands Network, Klamath Forest Alliance, and Kettle Range Conservation Group, represented by the Western Environmental Law Center. A simliar lawsuit was brought by NPCA, the Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, Oregon Wild, and the Humane Society of the United States