Written by HLRBO Staff|
Last updated
Gray wolves are once again at the center of America’s wildlife conflict, both on the ground and in courtroom.
A June 18 hearing in a Montana federal court could shift the future of predator management nationwide. At issue is whether the federal government or individual states should control wolf populations.
The debate has become a symbol of the divide between urban and rural, hunter-conservationists and environmentalists. With wolves successfully reestablished in a number of Great Lakes and Western states, the debate is no longer about whether or not wolves should be welcome, but who should control their management.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service took wolves off the ESA list in 2020 to applause from ranchers, wildlife agencies, hunters, and some conservation groups. But environmental groups sued to get federal protections reinstated. The court is expected to make a ruling later this year after hearing arguments from both sides.
Meanwhile, the debate is playing out on several other fronts. I summarized a few of the regional conflicts below.
Colorado
Thanks to a narrowly passed controversial 2020 ballot measure that usurped the recommendations of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the state has undertaken a wolf reintroduction program that has transplanted wolves from Oregon and British Columbia. The wolf reintroduction has remained in headlines thanks to the new wolves preying on livestock and claims for reimbursement by ranchers outstripping the fund established for the expected depredations.
Now, another wolf ballot initiative has been proposed and is collecting signatures for inclusion on the 2026 ballot. It proposes to end the wolf reintroduction project by the close of 2026.
Colorado Advocates for Smart Wolf Policy created the initiative and argues that halting the wolf reintroduction will allow state wildlife biologists to “replace harmful experimentation with sound wildlife management.”
California
Wolves have been making headlines in the Golden State, with Northern California wolf populations preying on livestock and rubbing elbows with rural towns. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife investigated 26 potential wolf-livestock incidents between January and March of 2025 and at least 16 were confirmed. In May, CDFW confirmed three new wolf packs had established themselves in the northern part of the state.
California’s Shasta County declared a local state of emergency in response to this sharp increase in wolf activity. Former County Supervisor Mary Rickert said in the County’s statement that “ranchers have done their part to coexist with wildlife, but the current wolf policies are out of balance.” She said the area needs “reasonable solutions that don’t leave rural Californians behind.”
In June, the CDFW announced it waslaunching a pilot program to help mitigate rural conflicts with the growing wolf population.
New Mexico & Arizona
The same story is playing out in the Southwest where a different species of wolf, the Mexican gray wolf, is facing calls to strip the animal of its Endangered Species Act protections in the wake of — you guessed it — an increase in livestock depredations in Arizona and New Mexico.
In late June, an Arizona Representative introduced a bill (referred to Committee) to delist the wolf to stop reintroduction support from the federal government and give states more control to address wolf conflicts. Several New Mexico counties in 2025 declared states of emergency to draw attention and request resources to address wolf conflicts in their areas.
The Mexican Gray Wolf was once nearly extirpated, but with seven animals still alive and the species added to the Endangered Species list in the 1970s, the federal government began breeding them in captivity. Starting in the late 1990s, a reintroduction program began in Arizona, New Mexico, and across the boarder in Mexico. The population is now estimated around 286 wolves.
Oregon
Wolf populations have mostly increased for decades in the Pacific Northwest after animals migrated across Idaho. This was after a reintroduction in Yellowstone. The expected conflicts with wolves have increased.
Officials from Wallowa County in Oregon issued a statement in June expressing their support for a bill that would delist wolves nationally and block further court challenges from environmental groups. “This population recovery, while a testament to successful conservation efforts, has come with serious and unintended consequences for Oregon’s farming and ranching communities,” the statement said.
Washington
Washington state drew attention this year when the state released a population report. It revealed a decrease in wolf numbers, thanks largely to 20 legal killings of wolves on tribal lands. Despite 20% wolf population growth since 2008 in the state, wildlife officials reported seven wolves poached in 2024. A $20,000 reward was offered in January by the state and wolf advocate group Center for Biological Diversity for information on the killings.
Gray wolves have confusing status in Washington. They’re endangered under Washington state law yet federally protected in the western two-thirds of the state.
Europe
Europe hasn’t undertaken the same reintroduction projects as the U.S., but naturally expanding populations under endangered species protections have led to the same kind of livestock conflicts we see across the pond.
In 2022, a European Commission member’s 30-year-old pony was slaughtered by a wolf in Germany. In June, the EU approved a status change for wolves across the continent that downgraded their status from “strictly protected” to “protected,” which will give member states greater control over managing wolves.
