A wolf crosses a road in Yellowstone National Park. (Jacob W. Frank/Courtesy US National Park Service)
The US House of Representatives decided on Thursday: 211-204A bill to repeal Endangered Species Act protections for the gray wolf outside of Alaska.
The The invoiceThe campaign, sponsored by Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, would direct the Secretary of the Interior to reissue a 2020 rule that would repeal ESA protections that delisted wolves other than the Mexican wolf in the lower 48 states, while specifying that it cannot be challenged in court.
The ruling by President Donald Trump’s first administration was overturned by a federal court in 2022.
Five Democrats voted for the bill and four Republicans voted against it. The measure was discussed during the chamber’s final set of votes before a two-week recess, and 18 members did not vote.
Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, sponsored an accompanying invoice in this chamber. The measure faces an uphill road in the Senate, where passage of partisan bills is rarer because of the 60-vote threshold for most legislation.
The bill would remove gray wolves from the ESA list even if they have not reached population numbers that would indicate full recovery, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Rep. Donald S. Beyer, a Democrat from Virginia, said it would be reasonable to adjust the population thresholds, but delisting mandated by Congress was unwise and illegal.
“This bill does not recognize the current status of gray wolves and returns us to an outdated regulation that has not held up in court,” Beyer said on the House floor Thursday.
The House Natural Resources Committee’s ranking Democrat, Jared Huffman of California, said the bill sets a “troubling” precedent by blocking judicial review.
“It shows the American people that they no longer have the right to challenge unlawful government actions,” he said. “The ESA is simple and effective. It ensures that decisions are based on science – that is the heart of it – and this bill throws that principle out the window.”
Several Republicans on the Natural Resources Committee spoke in favor of the bill, saying it would delegate wolf management to states.
Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman, an Arkansas Republican, said in a statement that the gray wolf has been “fully recovered” for two decades.
“States are more than capable of managing thriving wolf populations. This legislation restores a common-sense, science-based approach to wolf management and gives decision-making back to states,” he said.
Republicans also argued that the bill would protect livestock and people.
Rep. Pete Stauber showed a photo from his district in Ely, Minnesota, of a wolf in a school parking lot.
“Because of Gray Wolf’s status on the list, nothing could be done to protect the lives of students there,” the Republican said. “The broken ESA endangers the lives of my constituents.”
