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Tuesday, April 5, 2011

The Gray Wolf and the Endangered Species Act: A Brief Legal History


Kristina Alexander
Legislative Attorney

The wolf had all but disappeared from the lower 48 states when the Endangered Species Act (ESA) put it on its first list of protected species in 1973. Since then, the wolf has held every status of protection under the ESA at one time or another, in one place or another. Regulatory efforts have switched from increasing protections of the wolf—culminating in the reintroduction of wolves into three parts of the American West in the 1990s—to reducing protection of the wolf where its population has surged. Litigation has marked each step of the way. Where litigation and regulation have not succeeded, legislation has been tried.

This report is a companion report to CRS Report RL34238, Gray Wolves Under the Endangered Species Act: Distinct Population Segments and Experimental Populations. It is intended to provide a brief history of the laws, regulations, and lawsuits related to the wolf’s protected status. Fuller analyses of the concepts discussed in this report can be found in that longer report.



Date of Report: March 28, 2011
Number of Pages: 12
Order Number: R41730
Price: $29.95

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