WASHINGTON – On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), along with three of his Republican colleagues, reintroduced legislation to return management of gray wolf populations to the states and delist the gray wolf as endangered and threatened wildlife under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

“Control of the gray wolf population must be returned to state wildlife agencies, who can best handle the recovered population,” said Sen. Johnson. “This legislation would do just that and provide relief for the farmers, loggers, sportsmen, and others that are most impacted by the gray wolf.”

The legislation comes after a previous federal court ruling in 2022 that restored endangered species protection for the gray wolf in the lower 48 states, rolling back policies supported by the current and previous administrations. Since 2015, Sen. Johnson has advocated a narrow approach to delist the gray wolf and allow wolf management plans that are based on state wildlife expertise.

Sen. Johnson is joined on this legislation by Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.).

Full text of the bill can be found here.

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