US moves to lift remaining grey wolf protections
BILLINGS, Mont. — Gray wolves in the U.S. would be stripped of federal protection and subjected to hunting and trapping in more states under a proposal released Thursday that declares the predators recovered following a decades-long restoration effort.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to revoke the wolves’ endangered and threatened species status and put them under authority of state wildlife agencies across the Lower 48 states. The Associated Press reported last week that the proposal was in the works.
“The facts are clear and indisputable — the grey wolf no longer meets the definition of a threatened or endangered species,” acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said.