I’m a sucker for metaphorical layers in lyrics, being a dealer in words myself. When Arkansas Rep. Bruce Westerman, the chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources who isn’t particularly known for his zingers, compared the Endangered Species Act to the Hotel California, where “you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave,” it left me cackling for days. Well played, Rep. Westerman.

Since its inception in the 1970s, only 54 species have been removed from the ESA citing recovery. With 1,300 species on the ESA, that’s a 4% success rate. Gray wolves, which for some reason hold some sort of mythical appeal to some, likely due to their howl and how their photogenic nature boosts fundraising efforts for activist groups, are perennial sources of litigation. Despite science and research from wildlife experts at the state, federal and tribal levels, as well as at universities, when gray wolves were delisted because of recovery in 2020 via a rule finalized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, extremist groups were Johnny-on-the-spot with litigation.

Gray wolves are listed under the ESA as endangered in 44 states, threatened in Minnesota, and under state jurisdiction in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, portions of eastern Oregon and Washington, and north-central Utah. According to the USFWS, based on the latest data as of the end of 2022, there were approximately 2,797 wolves distributed across at least 286 packs in seven states in the western United States. This population size and widespread distribution contribute to the resiliency and redundancy of wolves in this region. The population maintains high genetic diversity and connectivity, further supporting their ability to adapt to future changes.

“We have so many in Canada, that we’re starting to import them into Colorado, which is just adorable,” she said, tongue in cheek. “This bipartisan science is extremely clear. It’s time to delist the gray wolf and celebrate it as an ESA success story.”

Ongoing litigation surrounding federal protections for gray wolves has had more teeth than any science. Courts have invalidated five out of six rules finalized by USFWS regarding the status of gray wolves that would have delisted or downlisted them. Environmental activist groups like Defenders of Wildlife and Wild Earth Guardians, both who brought forth litigation against the USFWS after the 2020 rule to delist wolves was finalized are well funded. They are also effective at leveraging gray wolves and other species to restrict land use.

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Look no further than New Mexico where alleged damage to riparian areas cited by the Center for Biological Diversity to be exclusively the result of estray cattle in the Gila National Forest. As a result of the damage CBD claimed the cattle, “an invasive, exotic species” wrought upon wildlife habitat including habitats for several threatened and endangered species, 65 head of cattle were shot and left to rot in the Gila Wilderness.

Each time science and data fails to agree with activist types, a lawsuit is filed, causing species management to look more like an Olympic ping pong match than it ought to. Colorado U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert and Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany’s bill also ensures USFWS rules can’t be overturned through judicial review, which is what Rep. Boebert said happened to the 2020 rule.

“During the Biden administration, we worked diligently to keep them off the list, but unfortunately frivolous litigation was filed by the Defenders of Wildlife and Wild Earth Guardians, extremist groups, and the California activist judge subsequently pandered to these groups by vacating the 2020 rule and unilaterally relisting the gray wolf,” she said.

It is time for the gray wolf to check out of the Hotel California and return management of gray wolves to the states. Of course, that changes very little here in Colorado, but a delisting is appropriate and long overdue.

Rachel Gabel writes about agriculture and rural issues. She is assistant editor of The Fence Post Magazine, the region’s preeminent agriculture publication. Gabel is a daughter of the state’s oil and gas industry and a member of one of the state’s 12,000 cattle-raising families, and she has authored children’s books used in hundreds of classrooms to teach students about agriculture.