WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), released the following statement on the Trump administration’s final rule regarding the gray wolf. The final rule delists the gray wolf in the lower 48 states from the endangered species list.

“President Trump’s administration is taking bold action to help both states and wildlife,” said Chairman Barrasso. “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has determined the gray wolf has recovered enough to be delisted in the lower 48 states. We have seen firsthand in Wyoming how a state is fully capable of managing gray wolf populations. Since 2017, the wolf has been delisted in our state. Wyoming has proven that states, not Washington, are in the best position to manage the gray wolf.” 

Background Information 

On May 1, 2017, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a final rule to remove the gray wolf in Wyoming from the endangered species list. This action was taken pursuant to a March 3, 2017 order and an April 25, 2017 mandate issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The court upheld the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2012 decision to delist the gray wolf in Wyoming and ordered the removal of federal protections for the species under the Endangered Species Act. 

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