In a dangerous and deeply misguided move that defies sound environmental science, the United States House of Representatives has passed H.R. 845, a bill that would strip Endangered Species Act protections from gray wolves across the entire lower 48 United States.

This politically motivated legislation ignores overwhelming scientific evidence showing that gray wolves are far from recovered. Wolves remain dangerously scarce—or entirely absent—across most of their historic range. The bill would reinstate a 2020 delisting rule that was rejected by federal courts after scientists demonstrated that gray wolves had not met recovery requirements under the Endangered Species Act. What makes this bill especially dangerous is that H.R. 845 would block any future legal challenges, preventing courts from reviewing the science altogether.

If enacted, this bill would congressionally delist gray wolves nationwide, mirroring the unprecedented 2011 delisting of wolves in the Northern Rockies. That decision bypassed the established scientific review process and handed management authority to states, where aggressive hunting and trapping policies have since stalled recovery. In states like Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, wolf populations have been subjected to extreme killing quotas and inhumane methods, dramatically slowing progress toward long-term survival.

Gray wolves are a keystone species whose presence is essential to healthy, balanced ecosystems. For decades, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has recognized that wolves regulate prey populations, support biodiversity, and strengthen ecological resilience. Removing federal protections would not only endanger wolves themselves, but would also destabilize ecosystems across vast regions of the country.

The consequences of state-sanctioned hostility toward wolves are already clear. The brutal killing of Hope, a young wolf tortured and killed in Wyoming, revealed how legalized persecution emboldens cruelty and makes accountability more difficult—even in extreme cases of abuse.

Now that H.R. 845 has passed the House, the fate of gray wolves rests with the United States Senate. Please contact your Senators today and urge them to reject this scientifically flawed, politically driven bill before it results in an irreversible tragedy for America’s wildlife.

If you live outside the U.S., you can help by sharing this petition on social media to raise awareness of this urgent issue.