Gray wolf numbers in Wyoming are rising amid criticism and concerns

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has released their annual monitoring and management report for gray wolves.

They report that 2023 marked the 22nd year in a row that wolf numbers in Wyoming have exceeded the species’ recovery criteria. Their recently published research papers have led to an increase in the number of gray wolves in Wyoming, but also a decrease in wolf-related attacks on livestock.

As of December 31 last year, the Cowboy State had 352 wolves and 43 packs, with at least 24 breeding pairs. At least 192 wolves and 17 breeding pairs were located within the Trophy Game Management Area.

This comes after the Humane Society of the United States posted a statement on their blog urging Americans to call on the Wyoming Office of Tourism to demand changes to what they call “Wyoming’s draconian, backwards laws and state policy against wolves’.

On April 8 of this year, the organization sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over its decision not to restore federal protections for wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains, including Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.

However, Wyoming senators disagree. In March, they sent a letter to the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service expressing concern about the agency’s decision to develop a National Recovery Plan under the Endangered Species Act for gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountain region. area.

Gray wolves are currently being delisted in Wyoming and other states, and state officials say wolf populations are stable. Game and Fish also say in their recent findings that the gray wolf population in Wyoming continues to meet all management goals and that wolf numbers are at healthy levels.

Just a few days ago, Senator John Barrasso, along with Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, proposed legislation to remove wolves from federal protection in all of the Lower 48 states, despite them being federally protected in Colorado today. The bill was passed by Wyoming Congresswoman Harriet Hageman. Now we have to wait for the Senate.

In 2020, the Trump administration issued a final rule removing gray wolves from the ESA, but in February 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California struck down the rule. The US Department of Justice is currently appealing the decision.