MISSOULA, Mont.— The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on Tuesday, Oct. 13, in three cases involving wolf protections under the federal Endangered Species Act. In two of the cases, wildlife and animal advocates, including the Center for Biological Diversity and Humane World for Animals (formerly called Humane Society of the United States), will defend lower court decisions that found that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service unlawfully removed or denied gray wolf protections.

What: Oral arguments in three wolf cases:

• Consolidated appeals of a California court decision restoring federal protections to gray wolves across the lower 48, outside the northern Rocky Mountains (Defenders of Wildlife v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 22-15529).
• Consolidated appeals of a Montana court decision directing the Service to reconsider its denial of federal protections for wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains (Center for Biological Diversity, et al v. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation, et al, 25-5109).
• A third case considers whether the agency lawfully designated an experimental population of Mexican wolves, which are protected as a separate subspecies under the Endangered Species Act, as “nonessential.”

When: Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 9:30 a.m. MT. The Mexican wolf case is currently scheduled first, followed by the gray wolf cases.

Where: Donald W. Molloy Courtroom (Room 300), Russell E. Smith Federal Courthouse, 201 East Broadway St., Missoula, Montana. Live streaming is available.

Who: Counsel from the Center for Biological Diversity and Humane World for Animals, who are parties in both gray wolf cases, will be outside the courthouse following the hearings to answer any questions.

Background

Wolves in Idaho, Montana, eastern Washington, eastern Oregon and northern Utah lost federal protection through a congressional legislative rider in 2011. Following a court battle, wolves in Wyoming also lost federal protection in 2012. In 2020, during the first Trump administration, the Service removed protections from gray wolves across the rest of the lower 48 states.

In 2021 the Center for Biological Diversity, Humane World for Animals, Humane World Action Fund (formerly called Humane Society Legislative Fund) and Sierra Club sought relisting of wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains under the Endangered Species Act. Also in 2021, Earthjustice brought a case on behalf of wolf advocacy groups to challenge the 2020 removal of gray wolf protections across the rest of the country.

In 2022 a federal judge in California reversed that Trump-era delisting rule, and the court ruling restored federal protection to gray wolves outside of the northern Rocky Mountains. In 2024 the Service denied the groups’ petitions to relist wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains, and the groups then successfully challenged the denial in a federal court in Montana. In early September 2026, the Trump administration directed the Service to again consider delisting wolves nationally.