Trump directs Interior department to review endangered species protections for gray wolves

President Trump signed an executive order directing Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to review whether gray wolves and Mexican gray wolves have met recovery criteria under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). 

The order sets a 90-day window to evaluate delisting or downlisting the species.

Framed as part of a broader push to back agricultural producers and address high beef prices, the directive instructs federal agencies to explore easing criteria for lethal wolf removal and to review evidentiary standards for livestock depredation claims.

The order also tells federal officials to urge states to roll back local protections for wolves and requires the Interior Department to prepare legislative recommendations for Congress to fully strip protections.

Despite the administration's stated intent and rhetoric at the White House signing ceremony, the order does not grant an immediate license to shoot wolves. 

Gray wolves remain federally protected across most of the lower 48 states due to a 2022 federal court ruling that blocked previous delisting attempts.

Environmental and animal rights groups condemned the order as a political stunt, warning that premature delisting threatens vulnerable populations such as the critically endangered Mexican gray wolf, which numbers roughly 300 in the wild and vowing immediate legal challenges.