Federal protections for wolves in Western Oregon gone with new delisting by USFWS

Wenaha pups in 2012 (photo by ODFW).

Maintaining federal protection for wolves re-colonizing areas of the West is likely one of the most important elements to the scientifically defensible recovery of this species.

Unfortunately, the proposal by US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)   to strip critical federal protections from gray wolves across all of the lower 48 states has become a reality. As the wolf is both an iconic symbol of that which is truly wild and is an important keystone predator, Cascadia Wildlands and our partners in wolf conservation strongly oppose this action to declare western wolf recovery “mission accomplished.”  The calamitous post-delisting population trends in the Northern Rockies — including wolves killed from the Yellowstone population — demonstrate the implications of this action for western wolf recovery. Put simply, how can the USFWS justifiably de-list wolves in the Pacific Northwest and across the lower 48, if they know that this action is likely to reverse the current recovery trends of the animal? Find information on Cascadia Wildland’s response here.

Wolves in the eastern and central part of the state of Oregon are protected by the state ODFW Wolf Management Plan and  wolves in the western part of the state were protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. As of this delisting decision by the USFWS, the wolves in the western part of Oregon have little protection now.

2020: The Trump administration has announced its decision to prematurely  removed protections for gray wolves. Learn more about the removal of federal protections for wolves  HERE.

2019: Unfortunately, on March 15, 2019, the US Fish and Wildlife Service published a rule proposing to prematurely remove gray wolves across the lower 48 from the Endangered Species Act.

2013: Thank you for being part of the chorus of over one-million Americans who, by the end of December 2013, encouraged the Obama administration to maintain critical protections for gray wolves. You were the voice of the voiceless. Because of you, wolves won.