While a federal appeals court in Montana weighs whether to restore gray wolf protections nationwide, USDA is urging state wildlife managers to do the exact opposite: cut the red tape and clear the way for lethal predator control to save cattle herds.
On Monday, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins called on state wildlife agencies to review state-specific wolf protections, listen to livestock producers and work directly with USDA to address wolf predation head-on — including through lethal removal.
The announcement follows President Donald Trump’s Sept. 4 directive, Executive Order 14425 (“Supporting America’s Ranchers”), which instructed the Department of the Interior to evaluate whether gray and Mexican wolves should be downlisted or delisted under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
“For too long, America’s ranchers have dealt with wolves threatening and killing their livestock, their livelihoods, and the family operations they have spent generations building,” Rollins says. “As ranchers await federal clarity on this issue, I am urging states to listen to their producers, review state-specific wolf protections, and work with USDA wherever possible to protect livestock, including through lethal removal when requested by the appropriate authorities and authorized by law.”
9th Circuit Showdown: Three Appeals, One Day
While the administration pushes to hand wolf management back to the states, the ultimate fate of the species remains tied up in the courtroom.
On Tuesday, Oct. 13, beginning at 9:30 a.m., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit will hear three separate wolf appeals in Missoula. Although heard by the same court on the same day, each addresses a different legal question.
- Lower-48 Protections: Appeals challenging a 2022 Northern District of California ruling that struck down the Trump-era delisting rule and reinstated federal ESA protections across most of the continental U.S. This case excludes Northern Rockies wolves, whose protections Congress removed in 2011.
- Northern Rockies Relisting: Litigation pushed by the Center for Biological Diversity and Humane World for Animals (formerly the Humane Society of the U.S.) attempting to overturn the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s refusal to relist gray wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. In August 2025, conservationists won a federal case finding that the Fish and Wildlife Service violated the Endangered Species Act when it denied protections to western wolves, including those in the Northern Rockies. The court ordered the agency to reconsider using the law and best available science. The federal government, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and hunting interests appealed. This hearing directly concerns Montana’s wolves after years of aggressive state hunting and trapping policies.
- Mexican Gray Wolves: A legal challenge over whether the federal government lawfully designated the experimental Southwest population of Mexican wolves as “nonessential,” which affects how strictly they are shielded from lethal management. Approximately 317 live in the wild in the U.S. and roughly 45 in Mexico. With fewer than 400 worldwide, conservationists argue this population is essential to the subspecies’ survival.
Environmental groups argue aggressive state management and hunting in states like Idaho and Montana justify putting all wolves back under federal oversight. For cattle producers, however, relisting the Northern Rockies or locking down the Southwest would completely paralyze on-the-ground predator response. You can watch the hearings on YouTube.
Wyoming Rep. Harriet Hageman pushed back on attempts to keep federal restrictions in place: “American ranchers have been forced to deal with apex predators devastating livestock for far too long despite these protected species exceeding recovery goals long ago,” Hageman says. “Those who work around the clock to keep our shelves stocked and neighbors fed deserve to be fairly compensated for losses from D.C.-protected predators like the gray and Mexican wolf. I am pleased to see President Trump and Secretary Rollins taking steps to relieve our ranchers of unnecessary predators on their lands and deliver due compensation when losses happen.”
The Patchwork Problem
Along with Rollins’ call to action, USDA is rolling out an “ESA Status of Wolves by State” guide highlighting the jurisdictional maze ranchers must navigate during an active depredation crisis.
While states like Idaho, Wyoming and Montana currently hold authority to remove wolves targeting livestock, neighboring ranchers in states like Washington, Oregon, California, Minnesota and Wisconsin face a tangle of federal and state classifications. In the Southwest, Mexican wolves carry severe federal protections that restrict lethal intervention even when cattle are repeatedly targeted.
Secretary Rollins notes USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Wildlife Services maintains more than 40 cooperative agreements to handle predator conflicts. Under current rules, APHIS can carry out lethal removals when requested by authorized state wildlife agencies or USFWS. USDA is urging states to eliminate bureaucratic barriers that prevent Wildlife Services agents from acting swiftly against confirmed problem packs.
LIP Boosts Predator Compensation to 100%
Recognizing court battles and federal reviews take time, USDA offers immediate financial clarity on calf losses.
Predation costs cut far deeper than dead stock — ranging from lower conception rates and weight shrinkage due to herd stress, to torn fencing and increased labor. To ease the cash blow of verified kills, USDA confirms the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), administered through the Farm Service Agency (FSA), has been boosted under the Working Families Tax Cuts Act.
Payment rates for eligible predation losses have officially been increased from 75% to 100% of the determined market value of the livestock.
Producers suffering confirmed predator kills are urged to document losses immediately and file through their county FSA office.
Step-by-Step Guide: What Ranchers Must Do When Depredation Strikes
Step 1 - Protect the Scene: If you suspect a kill, cover the carcass with a tarp to prevent scavenger birds and coyotes from destroying bite marks and tracks. Take time-stamped, GPS-tagged photos.
Step 2 - Get Immediate Verification: Call your state wildlife agency or regional USDA APHIS Wildlife Services agent before moving the animal. LIP payments require official depredation confirmation.
Step 3 - File LIP Claim Within 30 Days: Notify your county Farm Service Agency (FSA) office within 30 days of the loss to lock in the 100% market value reimbursement rate.
Step 4 - Stay Engaged Locally: Attend state game commission meetings. USDA is explicitly asking state wildlife directors to request federal APHIS lethal assistance where problem wolves persist.
