https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-wolf-hunting-protections-criticism-activists/

BY ALEXANDRA LARKIN

UPDATED ON: AUGUST 20, 2021 / 10:24 PM/ CBS NEWS

Last year, the Trump administration announced that thegray wolfwould be removed from the list of animals protected by the Endangered Species Act. Before gray wolves were protected by the act, the species was considered near extinction after a combination of hunting, trapping, and loss of habitat decimated its numbers.

The Biden administration is now moving to uphold that decision, according tocourtdocuments filed Friday, despite concern from conservationists that it couldjeopardizethe recovery of the species.

Attorneys for the administration requested that a federal judge throw out a lawsuit from wildlife advocates that aims to restore Endangered Species Act protections for the animals, arguing that Trump’s 2020 rule, implemented by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “follows the law and is supported by the administrative record.”https://www.cbsnews.com/newsletters/widget/e879?v=cbfb55a18595c6934ce492132bcc0bc8&view=compact#tVPLbtswEPwVgmczlmS9bylSoLkUAZKe6iLgY5UQkUiBpKwaQf69S1lO3FyLXgx5d%2FYxs8NXasegrfG0faUgrQLaUqirhm7oQcOM%2F6QdRi4DBkbrdQRj8Np7COSLVUf6tqHBcfmizVNsov1Xw0UPirbBTbCh3AUte7iewrN1txj%2BSZXK8kwJYKLMgeVQKVZz0bC8K0tIswKarqS%2FPpV%2B5wPEYt7Db26U46TnDqdeAGN3KquSV7tOsrwpOf40ORNZXrIiLdM6rctyVyj6XnI3iRseIussyVKW1CxLSZK1WdYmxQfsQYc%2BgoRWYAhXgzbaI%2B0oBxHI3hMwigRLnhw%2Fktn2HXmeTEBRyOhsALmovCEK%2FKgDEGmNBGc86ZwdCOqrD9jQX0w8jrCobwKY8LhGMa%2FgoOU5je1egh0xrP0NHCKNeCj%2BdAYYmP0jDhwwjNeDbxpcVHHyUbcYuT%2FthtjJr6C11uGuuLQ%2BAJlBYA4nabmI3FWJgnonUFroWJpCxviuS1iSNWla52ldFc254HS4U%2FfJg1u7c4NDN7TXgw60zd%2BJ39vJyYW68CSujyDh8OJ3PQ%2BddcPpysIv1OK6jx8qePSwUdwdH%2BJkH5l6qQG1Xuj%2Blb1VS77aJUm1w9uLLEULNuhI0fGGdVXa1F3WiKIozlqtVNbhkSDwXk9DND6eudP9RToWIARMPAtmVXwqMtLWkvc%2FXI%2Fh5xBG3%2B63%2B%2B08z1dr4RU%2Buf02fu23i%2BFY9BNb%2FcQu%2FMSkwxcptR%2FYu4X229UB%2F3%2FCKsc%2FdXp7%2BwM%3D

“The Service possesses substantial expertise on…