Wolves are fighting for survival and they need protection.
Over a century ago, gray wolves were common in Maine until intensive hunting and trapping wiped them out. However, Maine still has suitable habitat to support their return. In 2019, DNA tests confirmed the presence of a wolf, and 2023 trail cam footage shared by the Maine Wolf Coalition suggests that wolves from Canada may be dispersing into the state. Mainers play a crucial role in the survival and recovery of wolves in our state and nationwide.
Today, gray wolves survive in just 10% of their historical range in the lower 48 states. The Endangered Species Act offers them the strongest legal protection, prohibiting hunting and trapping. However, wolves in the Northern Rockies have already lost these federal safeguards, and new legislation threatens others.
Donât be deceived by the name. The Trust the Science Act (H.R. 764/S. 1895) aims to strip federal protections from gray wolves across the U.S. and prevent judicial review, meaning courts would have no power to overturn it. Having narrowly passed the House, itâs now under Senate consideration. Additionally, the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025 (H.R. 8998), currently circulating in Congress, includes a âriderâ in Section 130 to remove federal protections from gray wolves in the lower 48 states.
Without federal protections, hundreds of wolves are slaughtered each year in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming under extreme anti-wolf laws passed in these states. In Wisconsin, when federal protections were briefly lifted, trophy hunters killed 218 wolves in less than three daysâmore than double the allotted quota. If more wolves lose protections, we could see similar tragedies occur across the country.
Like gray wolves, the critically endangered Mexican gray wolves (âlobosâ) in Arizona and New Mexico are facing similar legislative threats, while red wolves in North Carolina are clinging perilously close to extinction in the wild. The urgency to protect America's wolves could not be greater.
Now is the time to actâbefore its too late. Vote for officials who will protect wolves and raise your voice for their future.
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