Environmental groups are challenging the Trump administration’s decision to remove the gray wolf from the federal endangered species list.
Multiple lawsuits accuse the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of acting prematurely and ignoring science in its decision to scrap protections for the gray wolf.
The agency argues that because critical wolf populations have rebounded in the Northern Rockies and Great Lakes regions, they no longer need federal protection in the lower 48 states.
"It was laughable on its face when we saw that argument, and we were kind of blown away that they made it."
Nick Cady is the legal director with Cascadia Wildlands. The group is a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits.
Gray wolves currently occupy just a small fraction of their historical range, including parts of Oregon, Washington and California.