Trump Administration Executive Order Targets Wolves to Appease Ranchers

Under the guise of supporting ranchers from livestock loss due to wolf predation, the Trump administration issued an executive order late Friday directing the Secretary of Interior to make a determination on whether America’s iconic gray wolves and Mexican gray wolves warrant downlisting or delisting from the Endangered Species Act. Wolf predation accounts for less than 1% of livestock loss across the country, significantly less than that by weather, old age and illness.

“If the administration truly wanted to help ranchers, it would already have invested in expanding and providing support for nonlethal tools, which are proven to deter wolves and other predators when implemented early and correctly,” said Mike Senatore, senior vice president of conservation programs at Defenders of Wildlife. “Instead of supporting ranchers in ways that also benefit the surrounding landscape and the iconic American wildlife that draw visitors from around the world, we’re seeing a relentless and misguided attack perpetuating the Big Bad Wolf narrative — a tale that should be shelved once and for all.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services is responsible, based on best available science, for listing animals to be protected under the ESA, and has acted uniquely with wolves, stripping protections from gray wolves long before they are recovered due to political pressures.

Gray wolves are currently listed as endangered across the Lower 48 with the exception of Minnesota, where they are listed as threatened, and the Northern Rockies, where they are not listed. Mexican gray wolves, a subspecies of gray wolf, reached a U.S. population of 319 in 2025. The Mexican gray wolf recovery plan calls for a wild population of 320 over four years, which has not yet been met.

Defenders of Wildlife works in states wolves are present and supports the ranching community with nonlethal training, installation and guidance on coexistence tools, as well as funding a range rider program in Colorado.

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