The federal government last week said it will not release a National Wolf Recovery Plan, despite announcing a plan was in the works last year, saying the species doesn’t need federal protection.

The move by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service comes as members of Congress are considering multiple bills that would delist the species from the Endangered Species Act nationwide.

Wolves in the United States are grouped into three differently managed groups.

In the Northern Rockies — Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and parts of Washington and Oregon — wolves were removed from the endangered species list and are managed by their respective state wildlife agencies, which allow hunting.

A population of wolves in Minnesota are listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, while wolves i

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