Trump administration removes protections for gray wolves

A female gray wolf named Crystal at the Smithsonian National Zoo.
(Image credit: Allison Shelley/Getty Images)

The Trump administration on Thursday announced that gray wolves will no longer receive federal protections under the Endangered Species Act.

This will affect the population in the Lower 48 states, turning management over to local wildlife agencies. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said the species has "exceeded all conservation goals for recovery" and "is neither a threatened nor endangered species based on the specific factors Congress has laid out in the law."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.