HR4255-119

What This Bill Does

This bill removes the Mexican wolf from Endangered Species Act protected-species lists by act of Congress rather than through the usual Fish and Wildlife Service scientific review process. The findings cite nine consecutive years of population growth, at least 286 wild Mexican wolves and about 350 captive Mexican wolves at the end of 2024, livestock depredation, safety risks to people and pets, reduced recreational opportunities, and burdens on residents in the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area.

The operative language requires the Interior Secretary to remove the Mexican wolf from ESA threatened and endangered species lists. It nullifies two existing Fish and Wildlife Service rules: the 2015 endangered status rule for the Mexican wolf and the 2022 experimental population rule. It also says that future Mexican wolf recovery plans may not consider Mexican wolf population status in Mexico.

Who Benefits and How

Cattle ranchers in the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area benefit because federal ESA restrictions and recovery rules tied to wolf-livestock conflict would be lifted. Livestock producers in Arizona and New Mexico benefit from reduced federal constraints on depredation response and land-use decisions. State wildlife management agencies benefit from more room to manage wolf conflicts without federal recovery-plan constraints tied to Mexico. Hunting outfitters and outdoor recreation businesses benefit if reduced wolf protection lowers predation pressure on game animals or eases access restrictions.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service loses authority to manage the Mexican wolf through ESA listing rules and recovery planning. Wildlife conservation organizations lose a key legal tool for protecting a subspecies that the current record describes as still subject to recovery planning. Mexican wolf populations face higher risk if federal protections, experimental population management rules, and Mexico-linked recovery planning are removed. Environmental litigators and public-interest scientists bear a policy burden because the bill bypasses ordinary administrative scientific review.

Key Provisions

• Requires the Interior Secretary to remove the Mexican wolf from ESA threatened and endangered species lists.
• Nullifies the 2015 Fish and Wildlife Service endangered status rule for the Mexican wolf.
• Nullifies the 2022 Fish and Wildlife Service experimental population rule for Mexican wolves.
• Prohibits future Mexican wolf recovery plans from considering population status in Mexico.