Trump moves to remove grey wolves from endangered species protection list: ‘easier for ranchers to have wolves killed'
Trump made the announcement alongside ranchers at the White House
Published September 05, 2026
United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump signed an executive order, triggering the process of removing the grey wolves from endangered species protection list on Friday.
He argued that ranchers need more power to defend their livestock from predators.
The 80-year-old Republican president has directed the Department of Interior to decide whether gray wolves and Mexican wolves have recovered enough to be removed from the Endangered Species Act. The department has been ordered to complete the process within the next 90 days.
The order also asks federal officials to make it easier for ranchers to have wolves killed when they threaten livestock or people.
The move is a major win for ranchers who have long complained that federal protections make it difficult to deal with wolves attacking their cattle.
Trump made the announcement alongside ranchers at the White House.
“You’re not allowed to protect yourself, right? Or your company, your cattle,” Trump said, before asking what they thought about letting them do so.
Gray wolves were once almost wiped out across the US after years of hunting and government-backed eradication efforts. Their numbers later recovered after federal protections and reintroduction programs.
But that recovery has created a new fight.
Ranchers say growing wolf populations are putting their herds at risk, while conservation groups argue that removing federal protection too quickly could undo decades of recovery.
The Trump administration tried to remove protections for gray wolves during his first term. A federal judge later overturned that decision in 2022, meaning wolves remained protected across much of the lower 48 states.
The latest order does not remove the protection immediately.
Instead, it starts the process that could eventually allow states and ranchers to have much greater control over wolf populations.
Conservation groups are already warning that the move could face legal challenges.
