Biden administration backs end to gray wolf hunting protections, despite concerns from activists

Last year, the Trump administration announced that the gray wolf would be removed from the list of animals protected by the Endangered Species Act. Before gray wolves were protected by the act, the species was considered near extinction after a combination of hunting, trapping, and loss of habitat decimated its numbers.  

The Biden administration is now moving to uphold that decision, according to court documents filed Friday, despite concern from conservationists that it could jeopardize the recovery of the species. Attorneys for the administration requested that a federal judge throw out a lawsuit from wildlife advocates that aims to restore Endangered Species Act protections for the animals, arguing that Trump's 2020 rule, implemented by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "follows the law and is supported by the administrative record."