Pacific Northwest Gray Wolves Relief Act of 2025

Key Points

• This bill would take gray wolves in Oregon and Washington off the federal endangered species list. It requires the government to bring back a 2020 rule that ended federal protections for these animals in those specific states.
• The change would give state officials more power to manage wolf populations. This often includes allowing people to hunt or trap wolves that are seen as a threat to livestock like cows and sheep.
• Ranchers and farmers in the Pacific Northwest are the main group affected. They argue that wolf numbers have grown enough that federal protection is no longer needed and that the wolves are hurting their businesses.
• If this becomes law, the Department of the Interior would have 60 days to put the old rule back into effect. This would shift the responsibility of protecting or managing the wolves from the federal government to state agencies.
• Environmental groups generally oppose this move. They worry that losing federal oversight could lead to too many wolves being killed, which might hurt the long term survival of the species in the region.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.