A bill to require the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to reissue a final rule removing the gray wolf from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
This bill would force the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to reissue, within 60 days of enactment, the final rule that removed the gray wolf (Canis lupus) from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). It would specifically reissue the 2020 rule titled “Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removing the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) From the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.” The reissued rule would not be subject to judicial review, meaning court challenges to the rule’s validity would be barred. In effect, the bill seeks to restore federal delisting of the gray wolf and shift management responsibilities away from federal protections to other authorities (typically state wildlife agencies) by removing the species from the federal endangered list.
Key Points
- 1Reissue requirement: The Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must reissue the 2020 final rule that removed the gray wolf from the ESA list (85 Fed. Reg. 69778, Nov. 3, 2020).
- 2Deadline: The reissuance must occur no later than 60 days after enactment of the bill.
- 3No judicial review: The reissued rule would not be subject to judicial review, blocking court challenges to the rule’s reissuance.
- 4Effect of reissuance: Delisting the gray wolf from the ESA would restore management authority primarily to state wildlife agencies, removing federal ESA protections for the species.
- 5Scope of impact: The bill targets the gray wolf nationwide (as addressed by the 2020 delisting rule), with the understanding that state-level management would replace federal protections where the rule applies.