Virginia Cramer, virginia.cramer@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In the latest attack on endangered species, the Trump administration today finalized a rule stripping protections from gray wolves across most of the lower 48 states. The politically-driven move will turn wolf management over to historically hostile state agencies.
The final rule disregards concerns raised by scientific peer reviews and strong public opposition to removing protections for wolves. Almost two million people voiced opposition to the rule during the comment period.
In response Michael Brune, Executive Director of Sierra Club, released the following statement:
“The decision to remove critical protections for still-recovering gray wolves is dangerously short-sighted, especially in the face of an extinction crisis. We should be putting more effort into coexistence with wolves, working to ensure their survival and balance our natural systems instead of stripping critical protections still needed for their full recovery. The science is clear that to protect our communities and prevent future pandemics, we need to be doing more to protect nature and wildlife, not less.
“It’s our communities, both human and wild, that will pay the price of the Trump administration’s continued efforts to undermine environmental safeguards and ignore science.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.