MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • December 22, 2025
The U.S. House on Thursday passed, 211-204, a bill to remove Endangered Species Act protections for the gray wolf outside Alaska. The bill, sponsored by Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert, would direct the Interior secretary to reissue a 2020 rule removing ESA protections that delisted wolves other than the Mexican wolf in the lower 48 states, while stipulating it could not be challenged in court. The rule from President Donald Trump’s first administration was struck down by a federal court in 2022. House Natural Resources Committee ranking member Jared Huffman said the bill set a “troubling” precedent by blocking judicial review. “It tells the American people they no longer have the right to challenge unlawful government actions.”