Political Whiplash Is Terrible for Wolves’ Future. But More Is Coming.

There are some 2,700 wolves across Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, and seemingly just as many opinions about how they should be managed.

In August, a federal judge from the U.S. District Court in Montana added one more to the mix when he ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to revisit its 2024 decision to keep Northern Rocky Mountain gray wolves off the federal endangered species list and under the management of those three states.

Among other missteps, the agency had not incorporated “the best available science” into its decision, Judge Donald Molloy wrote. His decision has come at a precarious time for the Endangered Species Act : The USFWS is considering revoking key protections for habitat critical to endangered species, and a handful of proposed bills before Congress would