Wolves in Tennessee

Red wolves once roamed widely across the southeastern U.S., including Tennessee, until relentless hunting and habitat loss drove them to extinction in the wild. A captive breeding program enabled their successful reintroduction in North Carolina, with their numbers rising to over 120. In the early 1990s, red wolves were reintroduced to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but the project ended by 1998 due to low pup survival and other challenges. Unfortunately, the red wolf population has since plummeted in North Carolina, with fewer than 20 red wolves now known to exist in the wild. Even without a wild wolf population of our own, Tennesseans play a crucial role in the survival and recovery of wolves nationwide.

What's at Stake

Gray wolves at risk

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.

Legislative threats

Don’t 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, it’s 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 “rider” in Section 130 to remove federal protections from gray wolves in the lower 48 states.

Deadly consequences

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 days—more than double the allotted quota. If more wolves lose protections, we could see similar tragedies occur across the country.

Beyond gray wolves

Like gray wolves, the critically endangered Mexican gray wolves (‘lobos’) 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.

Your vote matters for wolves

Wolves can't vote, but you can. Your vote is incredibly powerful in shaping their future. Your vote can help save their lives.

Elect to Protect

No matter where you live, your voice and your vote are essential to protecting wolves. Take action now—before it’s too late.

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