Wolves Returned to State Management in Wyoming

The Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. entered its final order on Tuesday order upholding Wyoming’s wolf management plan. This order returns gray wolf management to the State of Wyoming.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service will file notice in the Federal Register in the coming days.

Wyoming Governor Matt Mead said he is happy with the decision.

“I am delighted that the Circuit Court recognized Wyoming’s commitment to manage a recovered wolf population,” said Governor Mead. “Our wolf management plan is a result of years of hard work by people across Wyoming. We recognize the need to maintain a healthy wolf population. I thank former Secretaries of the Interior Ken Salazar and Sally Jewell as well as former Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department for their commitment to getting this done. This is a good day for Wyoming.”

U.S. Senator John Barrasso, chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, said state management should have been in place earlier.

“This court mandate now puts the management of the wolf where it should have been all along, under the control of Wyoming, not Washington,” said Chairman Barrasso.

U.S. Senator Mike Enzi applauded the final order.

“This order means a lot to the state of Wyoming and brings wolf conservation back to where it belongs,” Enzi said. “It is Wyoming wildlife managers who know best how to manage Wyoming’s wildlife. I applaud all those who have worked so hard with stakeholders and the federal government over the years to create an effective and balanced wolf management plan.”

Wyoming managed wolves from 2012 to 2014. In 2014, a federal District Court judge reinstated federal protections for wolves on the premise that population commitments in Wyoming’s wolf management plan needed to be found in regulation or statute. Wyoming and the federal government appealed that decision and ultimately prevailed in the D.C. Circuit Court.

For more information about management in both the Trophy Game Management Area and the predator zone, please contact the Wyoming Game and Fish Department or visit their website: wgfd.wyo.gov.