Environmentalists on Tuesday sued the Fish and Wildlife Service over the federal agency’s midcourse reversal and decision not to prepare a nationwide gray wolf recovery plan.
Citing the gray wolf’s current Endangered Species Act-protected status throughout much of the Lower 48 states, the Center for Biological Diversity called for resumption of the wolf recovery planning begun during the Biden administration.
“Instead of trying to illegally strip wolves of protections once again, the Fish and Wildlife Service must finally follow the law and develop a plan to achieve nationwide wolf recovery,” said Collette Adkins, a senior attorney and director of the CBD’s Carnivore Conservation program.
The lawsuit filed in federal court in Arizona challenges FWS’ determination in late 2025 that the species recovery planning would stop because the wolf populations are “no longer in need of conservation under the [ESA] due to recovery.”
