Boebert’s ESA Attack Puts Wolves’ Future Before the Senate

The Endangered Species Act is one of the most successful conservation laws in American history. For more than 50 years, it has protected wildlife from extinction while balancing conservation with responsible land and wildlife management — guided by science, not politics.

Now Rep. Lauren Boebert is pushing legislation that would dangerously weaken those protections—and that bill has passed the House.

Her legislation—the cynically-named “Pet and Livestock Protection Act”—would force the premature removal of federal protections for gray wolves and block judicial review, silencing scientists, wildlife experts, and the courts. It replaces science-based decision-making with political interference and opens the door for Congress to override protections for any species that becomes inconvenient.

Wolves are a keystone species that help keep ecosystems healthy — benefiting forests, waterways, ranchlands, and rural communities alike. Decades of careful recovery work brought wolves back from near extinction. Many populations remain vulnerable, and rolling back protections now risks undoing that progress at a time when climate change and habitat loss are already pushing wildlife to the edge.

This should not be a partisan issue.

Yet this bill passed the House with support from Republicans and several Democrats who abandoned the Endangered Species Act’s core principle: that wildlife decisions must be driven by science, not politics. Weakening the ESA sets a dangerous precedent that threatens all endangered species, regardless of geography or party.

Today it’s wolves. Tomorrow, it could be endangered fish, birds, manatees, or species in your own backyard.

We call on the U.S. Senate — especially senators serving on the Environment and Public Works Committee — to reject this bill outright. 

We urge Senate leadership to refuse any effort to bypass science or limit judicial oversight.
 
And we implore every senator, Democrat and Republican alike, to publicly commit to defending the Endangered Species Act without carve-outs or political exceptions.

The Endangered Species Act works — but only if lawmakers defend it.

If you believe wildlife should be protected based on facts, not fear; if you believe future generations deserve a living, thriving natural world; and if you refuse to let Congress quietly dismantle one of our most effective environmental laws to benefit industry, please add your name now and speak out.

Tell the Senate: protect wolves, defend science, and stop this attack on the Endangered Species Act — before it’s too late.
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Source

https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/12/25/lauren-boeberts-all-out-anti-wolf-assault-on-the-esa/