The decision comes after conservation groups filed federal lawsuits last year against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service which previously refused to relist gray wolves as a threatened species.
In its 2024 determination, the wildlife agency agreed to develop a national recovery plan for wolves in the lower 48. However, it said the “gray wolf in the western United States is not in danger of extinction, or likely to become in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future.”
In subsequent lawsuits, the conservation groups argued the agency failed to consider the best available science on wolf populations and the impacts of hunting and trapping.
The Utah News Dispatch reports a District Court judge said Tuesday that “for the most part, plaintiffs are correct.”
The ruling sends the decision not to protect gray wolves back to the wildlife agency for further consideration.
