Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany is applauding President Donald Trump’s latest move to lift federal protections from the gray wolf, returning wolf management back to the states. The Northwoods congressman has championed this issue for several years.
Trump signed an executive order Friday directing the Department of the Interior to determine within 90 days whether gray wolves meet the recovery criteria for removal from the Endangered Species Act. If the department determines those criteria have been met, the order directs it to begin the delisting process. The administration is also seeking to give ranchers greater flexibility to protect livestock from wolf attacks.
“The gray wolf has recovered, and the impacts are being felt across rural communities in Wisconsin,” Tiffany said. “Farmers are dealing with livestock depredations, families are losing pets, and wolves are showing up closer to homes.”
“Wisconsin has successfully managed wildlife for generations. It is time to get out-of-state judges and bureaucrats out of the way and let Wisconsin responsibly manage its wolf population,” Tiffany added.
The move comes after years of advocacy from Tiffany to return wolf management authority to Wisconsin.
Tiffany authored the Pet and Livestock Protection Act, which would remove the gray wolf from the federal endangered species list and return management authority to the states. The legislation passed the U.S. House in December with bipartisan support and is awaiting action in the Senate.
The Trump administration previously delisted gray wolves across most of the Lower 48 in 2020, but a federal judge overturned that decision in 2022, restoring protections in much of the country. Tiffany has repeatedly pushed Congress to make the delisting permanent and prevent federal courts from reversing it.
Friday’s executive order puts the Trump administration back on a path toward returning management of Wisconsin’s wolf population to the state — a policy Tiffany has made a signature issue during his time in Congress.
