A bill to delist gray wolves from the Endangered Species Preservation Act (ESA) passed through the U.S. House last week with a narrow vote of 209-205. The bill from Republican U.S. Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin, called Trust the Science Act, would make the Department of the Interior delist gray wolves in the lower 48 states, and it would prohibit judicial review of the decision, according to AGDAILY.

Gray wolves were first listed under the ESA in 1967. In 2009, the Obama administration supported the decision to remove federal protections on gray wolves when then-Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, a Democrat from Colorado, announced at a news conference that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) decision to delist gray wolves was “a supportable one. … Scientists have concluded that recovery has occurred.” In 2011, Congress told USFWS to reinstate a rule to delist gray wolves in the Northern Rockies Ecosystem, coupled by an Obama Administration proposal delisting the gray wolf in the lower 48 states in 2013. “The science is clear; the gray wolf has met and exceeded recovery goals,” Tiffany said.

Then in 2020, the Department of the Interior and the USFWS delisted the gray wolf in the lower 48 states using the best science and data available. With a population of over 6,000 wolves at the time of delisting, the gray wolf was the latest successful comeback from the Endangered Species list, with the largest populations in the Rocky Mountains and the western Great Lakes regions.

However, in 2022, a California judge unilaterally restored protections for gray wolves under the ESA. The Biden administration appealed the decision and supported the 2020 ruling.

State and tribal wildlife agencies have a history of successfully managing wolf populations. Thanks to Montana’s state management efforts, the gray wolf population was 500% above FWS recovery goals. Idaho’s successful state management had the gray wolf population at 700% above recovery goals.

It’s estimated that 6,000 wolves reside in the lower 48 states and another estimated 7,000 to 11,000 gray wolves live in Alaska. Canada is home to an estimated 30,000 gray wolves. Twenty-four members of Congress co-sponsored Boebert’s and Tiffany’s bill.