Wolverines are rapidly disappearing from the United States.

There are less than 300 wolverines remaining in the contiguous United States, and there are currently no federal protections in place to keep the population stable or prevent sudden decline¹.

Wolverine habitat has shrunk dramatically in the past century, with fragmentation due to human development and poaching making fewer and fewer places livable for the dwindling wolverine population².

Climate change poses another threat, as wolverines rely heavily on prolonged snow cover in spring and early summer months to den³. Shrinking snowpack is expected to continue over the next half century, putting the wolverine in great peril⁴.

Even if strict emissions rules were put in place today, the climate impacts of the past century will continue to spiral to reduce snowpack in the coming years⁵.

Two courts have invalidated decisions that previously denied protections to wolverines under the Endangered Species Act⁶. This is a victory for the imperiled species, but the fight for survival is far from over. The wolverine population is still at great risk and in need of endangered or protected status before it is too late!

Sign the petition and ask the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to save wolverines from extinction by protecting them under the Endangered Species Act!

More on this issue:

1. Johnathan Hettinger, Montana Free Press (19 December 2020), "There Are Only 300 Wolverines Left in the Lower 48. Why Won't the Government Protect Them?"
2. The Wolverine Foundation (2022), "Conservation."
3. National Science Foundation (3 February 2011), "Wolverines Threatened by Climate Change, Earlier Springs."
4. United States Environmental Protection Agency (April 2021), "Climate Change Indicators: Snowpack."
5. NCAR & UCAR News (3 February 2011), "Wolverine Population Threatened By Climate Change."
6. Brian Sweeney, Pagosa Daily Post (27 May 2022), "Court Again Forces Feds to Reconsider Wolverine Protections."