Pet and Livestock Protection Act
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Would require the Department of the Interior to remove the gray wolf from federal endangered species protections within 60 days of enactment, reinstating a 2020 delisting rule that a federal court struck down in 2022.
The bill would also bar any court from reviewing the reissuance of that rule — a significant limit on judicial oversight of a contested wildlife policy affecting ranchers, pet owners, and conservation advocates across the western United States.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would direct the Secretary of the Interior to reissue, within 60 days of enactment, the 2020 final rule that removed the gray wolf (Canis lupus) in the lower 48 states — except for the Mexican wolf subspecies — from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. That original rule was vacated by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in February 2022, restoring federal protections for the gray wolf. This bill would effectively bypass that court decision by requiring the rule to be reissued as a matter of statute.
The bill would also explicitly prohibit judicial review of the reissuance, meaning no court could challenge or vacate the rule again on the same or similar grounds. It would not affect the Mexican wolf subspecies, which would remain on the endangered list.
Key provisions
- 1Would require the Secretary of the Interior to reissue the 2020 final rule delisting the gray wolf in the lower 48 states within 60 days of enactment.
- 2Would explicitly prohibit any judicial review of the reissuance of the gray wolf delisting rule.
Who would be affected
Ranchers, farmers, and livestock owners in states where gray wolves are present, as well as pet owners in rural wolf-range areas. Wildlife conservation organizations, state fish and wildlife agencies, and tribal nations with treaty interests in wolf management would also be directly affected. The Department of the Interior and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would carry out the mandatory reissuance.
Why it matters
If enacted, gray wolves in the lower 48 states would lose federal endangered species protections, shifting management authority primarily to states. Ranchers and livestock owners could more freely pursue lethal control of wolves threatening their animals. Conservation groups would lose the federal legal protections and the ability to challenge the delisting in court, a combination that makes this bill more consequential than a standard regulatory rollback.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Sec. 2)
Removes gray wolf (except Mexican wolf subspecies) from the endangered and threatened species list by mandating reissuance of the 2020 delisting rule, bypassing the court vacatur.
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Deadline for the Secretary of the Interior to reissue the gray wolf delisting rule
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 845 would have no significant effect on the federal deficit, with all estimated changes in direct spending, revenues, and discretionary spending falling between -$500,000 and $500,000 over the 2025–2035 period.
CBO estimates that H.R. 845 would produce only insignificant changes to direct spending and revenues over the 2025–2035 period — each effect falling between -$500,000 and $500,000. The bill would slightly reduce permitting fee receipts (recorded as reductions in direct spending) collected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for activities involving gray wolves, reduce civil and criminal penalty revenues, and marginally decrease Judgment Fund payments for attorneys' fees by barring judicial review of the reinstated gray wolf delisting rule — but all these effects are too small to estimate meaningfully. The bill contains both an intergovernmental and a private-sector mandate (by eliminating the right to seek judicial review of the rule), but CBO estimates the costs of both mandates fall well below the UMRA thresholds of $103 million and $206 million in 2025, respectively.
How implementation would work
The Secretary of the Interior would be required to reissue the November 3, 2020 final rule verbatim within 60 days of enactment, with no discretion to modify or delay. No notice-and-comment rulemaking process is specified — the bill treats reissuance as a statutory mandate rather than a new regulatory action. The no-judicial-review provision would bar federal courts from entertaining challenges to the reissuance, removing a key check that previously led to the rule's vacatur.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Official CRS summary
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This bill directs the Department of the Interior to remove protections for the gray wolf under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). Specifically, the bill requires Interior to reissue the final rule titled Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removing the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) From the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and published on November 3, 2020.
The rule removed the gray wolf in the lower 48 United States, except for the Mexican wolf (C. l. baileyi) subspecies, from the endangered and threatened species list. However, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California vacated the rule on February 10, 2022. As a result, the gray wolf reattained the protection status it had prior to the rule's promulgation.
The bill also prohibits the reissuance of the rule from being subject to judicial review.
Legislative subjects
Administrative law and regulatory procedures; Department of the Interior; Endangered and threatened species; Environmental Protection; Environmental regulatory procedures; Mammals
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-332