LEARNING HUB
Welcome to the Learning Hub! Here you'll find everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the history of the gray wolf in the United States including background information on wolf protection efforts, interesting scientific papers, and commonly misunderstood facts about this incredible species.
RECENT HISTORY OF WOLF PROTECTIONS IN THE U.S. (2020 TO TODAY)
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Photo courtesy of Ronan Donovan
In late 2020, the Trump Administration removed all Gray Wolves from federal endangered species protection, against the advice of scientists. This delisting prompted states like Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming to pass legislation that encouraged the slaughter of up to 90% of their wolf populations.
Despite horrifying developments of wolf slaughters in the Northern Rockies, on August 20, 2021, the Biden Administration chose to defend Trump's delisting in federal court. Shortly after, on September 15, 2021, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced a yearlong "status review" of wolves in the Western U.S. but declined to halt ongoing wolf hunts during this period.
On February 10, 2022, a federal judge restored federal protections to wolves in much of the contiguous United States. However, these protections were not extended to wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountain Region, where over 80% of the slaughter occurs. Multiple conservation organizations appealed the court order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and USFWS undertook a status review of the Gray Wolf.
In January 2023, the USFWS announced that it would delay an update of its status review of the Gray Wolf until February 2024.
In February 2024, the USFWS finally released the results of their review, failing to relist wolves. Instead, they announced the development of a first-ever nationwide Gray Wolf recovery plan, to be completed by December 12, 2025.
In the years since the 2020 delisting, thousands of Gray Wolves have been killed in the Northern Rockies. In the 2021–22 season alone, 25 of Yellowstone National Park's wolves were shot or trapped after crossing the park boundary, the deadliest season for Yellowstone's wolves since their reintroduction in 1995.
Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming have continued to enforce laws allowing hunters to kill up to 90% of the wolves inside their borders, often under the false pretext that wolves are responsible for significant livestock losses, despite wolves accounting for less than 1% of unwanted livestock deaths.
The national recovery plan never came. On November 3, 2025, the USFWS cancelled it, saying a plan wasn't needed. The first nationwide roadmap for Gray Wolf recovery was promised, then abandoned, without a page of it ever being released.
On December 18, 2025, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 845, a bill that would strip Gray Wolves of federal protection by an act of Congress and block the courts from reviewing the decision. It now sits in the Senate, where it needs 60 votes to pass.
On September 4, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order directing Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to decide within 90 days whether to delist Gray Wolves and Mexican Wolves, and to begin delisting them if he says yes. That decision is expected in early December 2026.
Until then, and without federal protection after it, hundreds of wolves are killed in state-sanctioned hunts every season. Raise your voice before the decision is made.
MYTH VS FACT
Once native to most of North America, gray wolves now occupy only about 20% of their historical range, with roughly 6,000 wolves remaining across the continental U.S. Despite their vital role in maintaining healthy ecosystems, wolves have been repeatedly villainized throughout history—cue the Little Red Riding Hood and Big Bad Wolf stories. Below are some of the most common myths about wolves, rebutted!
MYTH
Wolves pose a significant threat to the livestock industry, and the only solution is to eliminate them.
FACT
Wolves are responsible for less than 1% of unwanted livestock deaths and according to USDA reports, wolves accounted for only 0.21% of sheep and 0.05% of cattle losses in states like Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and Wisconsin. The vast majority of livestock deaths are due to other causes.
Effective non-lethal wolf management techniques are available and have proven successful in reducing conflicts between wolves and livestock. Tools such as range riders, fladry (a perimeter of colorful flags around livestock), strobe lights, and loud noises can significantly lower wolf-livestock interactions. Since wolves can sometimes become accustomed to non-lethal tools, proactive measures like removing bone piles can further prevent wolves from being attracted to livestock areas, helping to minimize losses even more.
Image courtesy of Ronan Donovan
THE SCIENCE
We use science-backed data to fundamentally inform all of our advocacy efforts to shape the policies we propose to legislators and drive a public narrative focused on FACTS over FEAR. Here are some key scientific studies that have been released in recent years:
3 Principles of responsible wolf management plans
01
No mandatory wolf hunts after delisting.
When wolves are removed from the Endangered Species list, it should mark a milestone in recovery, not the immediate and irrational start of a slaughter.
02
A proactive, well-funded non-lethal strategy.
Real wolf management plans don’t wait for conflict, they prevent it.
03
As we fight to keep wolves protected under the Endangered Species Act, states must also be held to a higher standard where wolves are already under state management—or if federal protections are ever removed.
Our 3 Principles of Responsible Wolf Management Plans outlines core standards every state must follow when developing or updating a wolf management plan.
Full transparency and open access to wolf data.
The public has a right to know how wolves are managed, from how many are on the landscape to how many are killed each year and why.
NEWS & UPDATES
Wolves have received increasing attention in recent years, with media coverage highlighting both their triumphs and the challenges they face. Below are some of the latest headlines that showcase the ongoing fight wolves face today: