Montana Waited Nine Years After Wolves Recovered. USDA Is Right to Tell States to Put Ranchers First
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Oct. 12 urged states to review their wolf protections and work with ranchers, ahead of an early-December deadline for Interior to decide whether gray and Mexican wolves still need federal listing. In our view, Montana's record shows state management can protect both herds and wolves.
By Clara Hughes
ALTAS WORLD NEWS OPINION | By Clara Hughes, Chief Opinion Editor | October 13, 2026 | 6-min read "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." That was Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Monday, as USDA urged states to review their wolf protections, listen to producers and work with the department, "including through lethal removal when requested by the appropriate authorities and authorized by law" [1]. It follows President Trump's Sept. 4 executive order giving the Interior secretary 90 days to decide whether the gray wolf and the Mexican wolf have met the recovery criteria for delisting or downlisting [2]. In our view, the administration is right to put the people who raise America's beef back at the center of this debate. Key Takeaways USDA on Oct. 12 urged states to review state-specific wolf protections and strengthen engagement with ranchers [1]. Executive Order 14425 directs Interior to decide within 90 days, by early December, whether gray and Mexican wolves meet federal recovery criteria [2]. USDA raised Livestock Indemnity Program payments for qualifying predation