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President Trump Signs Executive Order Directing Interior Department to Review Gray Wolf Protections
Just the facts
The executive order gives Interior Secretary Doug Burgum a three-month deadline to determine whether gray wolf and Mexican gray wolf populations have sufficiently recovered to warrant federal delisting. Under current law, gray wolves remain protected under the Endangered Species Act across most of the lower 48 states following a 2022 federal court ruling. The directive also instructs federal authorities to encourage state-level officials to ease local restrictions on wolf management and population control. Environmental advocacy organizations, including the Center for Biological Diversity and WildEarth Guardians, criticized the directive and pledged legal challenges.
Why this is news
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on September 4, 2026, directing the U.S. Department of the Interior to evaluate removing Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves.
Sources
This summary is compiled strictly from the original reporting below.