The Trump administration is proposing ending endangered species protections for gray wolves in the lower 48 states. Critics say the move would endanger the estimated 5,000 gray wolves currently living in the continental United States, excluding Alaska. In a statement, the Western Environmental Law Center said, “Allowing people to kill wolves in Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana has already stunted recovery in those states. Applying this same death-sentence to wolves throughout the contiguous U.S., would nationalize these negative effects, with potentially catastrophic ripple effects on ecosystems wherever wolves are found today.”