Trump Administration Targets Wolf Protections; Environmental Consequences Will Be Far-Reaching

The Trump administration has put federal protections for America’s wolves back on the chopping block—and the consequences could extend far beyond the wolves themselves.

On September 4, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the U.S. Department of the Interior to determine within 90 days whether the gray wolf and the especially rare Mexican wolf have met the recovery criteria necessary to remove or reduce their protections under the Endangered Species Act. The order also directs federal officials to develop recommendations for fully delisting or downlisting the wolves and to suggest changes that could make lethal removal easier in cases involving livestock or threats to perceived human safety. The order is called Supporting America’s Ranchers but is that really what it’s all about? Unlikely.

Importantly, the order does not itself remove the wolves’ federal protections. However, it clearly does begin a process that could ultimately lead to those protections being reduced or even eliminated.

For the gray wolf, this is not the first time. The first Trump administration removed federal protections for most gray wolves in 2020. A federal court subsequently vacated that decision, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says that, except for the Northern Rocky Mountain population, gray wolves in the contiguous 48 states are again protected under the Endangered Species Act, at least for now.

The Mexican wolf is an even more precarious story. The Mexican wolf is the rarest and most genetically distinct subspecies of gray wolf in North America. It was nearly exterminated in the United States by the 1970s and was listed as endangered in 1976. Reintroduction began in Arizona and New Mexico in 1998.

There has been remarkable progress. The Fish and Wildlife Service reported a minimum of 286 Mexican wolves and 26 breeding pairs in the United States at the end of 2024. But recovery does not mean the job is finished. The population remains relatively small, and maintaining genetic diversity is an important part of the recovery effort. In fact, the 2024 program included fostering genetically diverse wolf pups from captive facilities into wild dens.

Wolves Maintain Healthy Ecosystems

And there is another important reason to care about what happens to wolves: ecosystems.

Wolves are apex predators. Their presence influences not only the animals they kill, but also the behavior and distribution of prey species.

In Yellowstone, the National Park Service describes what are known as “trophic cascades,” in which changes involving predators can ripple through the food web and ultimately affect vegetation. The agency notes that the loss of top predators contributed to excessive white-tailed deer and elk over-grazing and the loss of willows and other woody plants, while the return of wolves has been associated with changes in deer and elk numbers. The National Park Service explains the science here.

When wolf numbers decline, coyote numbers increase. Removing a top predator can sometimes produce what scientists call “mesocarnivore release”—an increase in smaller predators such as coyotes. And coyotes are typically more a troublesome for ranchers than wolves. In this telling and now famous video, it’s even noted that wolves impact river flow.

Besides, livestock producers and wolves can coexist. The Fish and Wildlife Service already uses a range of strategies to address Mexican wolf-livestock conflicts, including nonlethal measures, translocation and, in some circumstances, removal of individual wolves. Ranchers also have tools available to reduce conflicts, including livestock guardian dogs and other deterrents.

Many suggest this adjustment in wolf protection is not about supporting farmers and ranchers but instead supporting future development and also serves as a potential distraction for farms and ranchers suffering economically at the moment due to various Trump administration politices.