Dear Friend,

Earlier today my colleague Tim told you about the U.S.  Fish & Wildlife Service plan to remove protections for wolverines. Unfortunately, the Trump administration just dropped another bomb in an already escalating biodiversity crisis. This afternoon, the Service finalized another rule removing Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves across the country, except for a small population of Mexican gray wolves in Arizona and New Mexico.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service made its decision despite the fact that wolves are still functionally extinct in the vast majority of their former range across the continental U.S. An independent panel of scientists coordinated by the Service itself convened and agreed that it is too soon and too precarious for the survival of the species to delist them now.

But following its pattern of ignoring science in conservation, climate, and other decisions, the Trump administration barreled ahead with this decision.

Wolves once roamed much of the United States, but after decades of government-sponsored extermination efforts, wolves were almost entirely wiped out around the turn of the century. Thanks to reintroduction in the mid-1990s and strong protections provided by the Endangered Species Act, wolves have been on the way to making a major comeback. But in places like Northern California and the Pacific Northwest, wolves are just starting to get a toehold. And they have yet to reclaim prime habitat – and their vital role in the ecosystem – in places like Colorado, Utah, and Maine.

Today’s decision could reverse two and a half decades of progress that are the result of scientific efforts and human will to co-exist in a healthy, balanced environment together.

We are all connected through the web of life, and wildlife have a right to exist and flourish on this planet. That is why Earthjustice is here – to fight for that brighter, healthier future no matter what. We will hold this administration accountable for this reckless decision, using the full power of the law.

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Sincerely,
Drew Caputo
VP of Litigation Lands, Wildlife, Oceans
Earthjustice

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