U.S. House Reintroduces Legislation to Delist the Recovered Gray Wolf

In a move demonstrating sound judgement and a grasp of scientific facts, U.S Representatives Lauren Boebert (Colo.-04) and Tom Tiffany (Wisc.-07) reintroduced legislation on Jan. 31 to delist the long-since-recovered gray wolf. Presented as the Pet and Livestock Protection Act, the bill follows up the initial legislation they introduced in May 2024 known as the Trust the Science Act and aims to remove the species’ Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections to prioritize the safety and success of the nation’s agricultural community.

Co-sponsored by 30 members of the U.S. House, the bill aims to prevent emotion-driven judges from sidestepping the truth about gray wolf recovery and return the species’ management to state wildlife agencies, which the NRA and other hunter-backed groups say should have been done years ago. Delisting the species is vital in ensuring the federal government’s limited ESA resources can be diverted to wildlife species truly in peril.

“The NRA thanks Representatives Boebert and Tiffany for introducing the Pet and Livestock Protection Act,” said John Commerford, Executive Director of NRA-ILA. “This important legislation would not only allow states to better control the wolf population unique to each state, but would also benefit hunters by enabling them to play a more active role in wildlife management.”

“Gray wolves are threatening the livelihoods of our ranchers and farmers with attacks on livestock because our agriculture community has their hands tied by out-of-date policies and progressive legal activism,” explained Rep. Boebert. “This bill enacts a common-sense solution shared by administrations of both parties and prioritizes the strength of our agriculture community over predators. I’m proud to join with Rep. Tiffany again on this important legislation for our farmers and ranchers and deliver a major victory for our country’s agriculture community.”
Committed to also seeing the issue addressed in his home state, Rep. Tiffany underscored, “Scientific data, coupled with the rise in wolf attacks in Wisconsin, confirms that the gray wolf population has exceeded recovery goals. Yet, activist judges continue to disregard these facts, leaving livestock, pets, wildlife and communities vulnerable to further harm.” By restoring gray wolf management to state wildlife officials, who understand local needs best, he added, the Pet and Livestock Protection Act will “ensure that out-of-state judges can no longer dictate how Wisconsin manages its wolf population.”

The Pet and Livestock Protection Act calls on new Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to reissue the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) 2020 rule delisting gray wolves in the Lower 48. Readers of this NRA website will recall that the Trump administration’s DOI delisted gray wolves only to have a federal judge in California vacate the rule under the Biden administration in 2022 and relist the species.

As this NRA website has tracked, the National Rifle Association (NRA) and Safari Club International (SCI), which have fought for delisting in federal court for decades, were forced to reconcile the fact extremists emerged victorious using arguments based on emotion over scientific facts. At the same time, they witnessed an abuse of the ESA by those driven to end all hunting as state wildlife agencies rely on legal, regulated hunting as a management tool to keep wild game populations healthy and within carrying capacity. Delisting ultimately means reopening wolf hunting seasons.

The 30 U.S. representatives co-sponsoring the Pet and Livestock Protection Act alongside Reps. Boebert and Tiffany include: Reps. Nick Begich (Alaska-At-Large), Jack Bergman (Mich.-01), Andy Biggs (Ariz.-05), Cliff Bentz (Ore.-02), Jeff Crank (Colo.-05), Eli Crane (Ariz.-02), Troy Downing (Mont.-02), Tom Emmer (Minn.-06), Gabe Evans (Colo.-08), Scott Fitzgerald (Wisc.-05), Brad Finstad (Minn.-01), Michelle Fischbach (Minn.-07), Russ Fulcher (Idaho-01), Paul Gosar (Ariz.-09), Glenn Grothman (Wisc.-06), Harriet Hagemann (Wyo.-At-Large), Andy Harris (Md.-01), Jeff Hurd (Colo.-03), Richard Hudson (N.C.-09), Mike Kennedy (Utah-03), Doug LaMalfa (Calif.-01), John Moolenaar (Mich.-02), Dan Newhouse (Wash.-04), Troy Nehls (Texas-22), Andy Ogles (Tenn.-05), Scott Perry (Pa.-10), Bryan Steil (Wisc.-01), Pete Stauber (Minn.-08), Derrick Van Orden (Wisc.-03) and Tony Wied (Wisc.-08).

The many stakeholders supporting the Pet and Livestock Protection Act include: the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Public Lands Council, NRA, SCI, Hunter Nation, International Order of T. Roosevelt, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Mule Deer Foundation, Blacktail Deer Foundation, Colorado Farm Bureau, Colorado Wool Growers, New Mexico Cattle Growers, Minnesota Lamb & Wool Producers Association, Coalition of Arizona/New Mexico Counties, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, Wisconsin Cattlemen's Association, Nebraska Cattlemen and Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association.

As someone who lives part-time in Colorado where ongoing voter-mandated wolf reintroduction efforts are underway—thanks to animal rights extremists’ 2020 ballot initiative that passed by less than 1 percent—I join the many Americans who appreciate the speed at which Reps. Boebert and Tiffany are moving on this issue under the Trump administration. Colorado Parks and Wildlife has confirmed gray wolf sightings in Mesa County, an hour from my Montrose County home where prey species are already struggling due to conflicts with mountain lions and other predators.

As expected, the reintroduction of this legislation is sending outraged extremist groups to their online platforms to condemn a common-sense move that came about for the simple reason that ESA goals for the species have been met. The hope is that Congress will side with science and acknowledge the gray wolf as an ESA success story.