North America CONSERVATION
North America
Canada
Across Canada, wolverines are currently designated as a species of “Special Concern” under the country’s Species at Risk Act (SARA). This means the species is considered at risk of becoming threatened or endangered due to biological characteristics and threats but is not currently listed as endangered or threatened under SARA. Canada does have is a national “Management Plan for the Wolverine (Gulo gulo) in Canada,” which outlines the collaboration among provincial, territorial, and Indigenous governments to coordinate research, monitoring, and conservation actions across jurisdictions. Also at the national level, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada has identified the wolverine as a species of “Special Concern” nationally.
At the provincial level, each province or territory has its own legal statutes and management designations and policies.
Yukon: The wolverine is designated as S3 (Vulnerable), meaning it is sensitive to human activities or natural events. The wolverine is managed as a furbearer species, which means they can be hunted and trapped in the Yukon, though these activities are subject to regulations.
Northwest Territories (NWT): The wolverine is managed as a sustainable, harvestable furbearer and both hunted and trapped are allowed in the NWT during a regulated seasons and with specific tagging requirements.
British Columbia: Wolverines are recognized as a species of special concern in this province. Because they are not listed as endangered or threatened, wolverines are managed as a commercial furbearer and can be hunted and trapped under regulated, seasonal, and regional management.
Alberta: The wolverine is classified as a “Data Deficient” species that is considered “at risk” or a species that may be at risk. As of the 2024-25 season, the province has removed all trapping limits for wolverines in most management areas, allowing for unlimited harvest by licensed trappers.
Saskatchewan: Wolverines are considered a species of special concern (or vulnerable/sensitive). Trapping of wolverines is allowed, but it is highly regulated, often with restricted seasons and zones as part of the province’s furbearer management.
Manitoba: Wolverines have no specific protective status in the province. Trapping is allowed but often managed with specific quotas or seasons to avoid overharvesting. Regulations strictly forbid using leghold traps, only kill traps are permitted.
Ontario: Wolverines are listed as “Threatened” under Ontario’s Endangered Species Act. Consequently, it is illegal to hunt or trap wolverines in Ontario, as the law prohibits harming, killing, or capturing them. The province aims to maintain the current distribution of wolverines and supports natural increases in the species population.
Quebec: The wolverine is listed as Endangered or Threatened in eastern Canada, specifically Quebec and Labrador. It was officially designated as Threatened in Quebec in 2000. As such, trapping of wolverines is strictly prohibited. The provincial government has established a recovery strategy for the species.
Labrador: The wolverine is listed as Endangered or Threatened in eastern Canada, specifically Quebec and Labrador. The population is considered critically endangered or possibly extirpated. As such, the wolverine was officially designated as Endangered in Labrador and it is illegal to hunt, trap, or kill these animals in the province.
Newfoundland: The wolverine, specifically the Eastern population, is designated as Endangered under the provincial Endangered Species Act. Due to this status, trapping or hunting wolverines is not allowed in the province.
Alaska
Wolverines are classified and managed as both furbearers and big game, and their population is considered stable. Unlike in the contiguous U.S., where the wolverine is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, in Alaska the species has no level of federal protection under the ESA. Consequently, regulated hunting and trapping of wolverines are allowed in Alaska.
Lower 48 United States
In 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the North American wolverine population in the contiguous United States as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
The original petition to list then wolverine under the ESA was filed in 1994. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) found that petition did not include enough information to justify ESA listing. A second petition to list then wolverine under the ESA was filed in 2000. After the petitioners filed a lawsuit challenging the FWS’s delay in making a decision, in 2003 the FWS issued a negative 90‑day finding, saying the petition lacked substantial evidence.
In 2005, petitioners filed another lawsuit based on their disagreement with the latest decision. In 2006, a federal court in Montana ruled FWS must conduct a full status review. In 2008, the FWS concluded ESA protection for the wolverine was “not warranted” because it did not view the contiguous U.S. population as a distinct population from wolverines in Canada.
In 2009, a legal settlement compelled FWS to reconsider its listing determination. In 2010, FWS found that protection was warranted but precluded by other ESA priorities, a decision that placed wolverines on the ESA candidate list but provided no protections for the species. After a separate lawsuit and legal settlement that required FWS to make listing decisions for many species (including the wolverine), in 2013 the FWS proposed listing the wolverine as threatened under the ESA.
In 2014, FWS withdrew that proposal, concluding protection wasn’t warranted —despite internal scientific recommendations to the contrary. A 2016 court order overturned the 2014 withdrawal, reinstating candidate status for the wolverine and requiring a new rulemaking about its potential ESA listing. I
In 2020, FWS again decided not to list the species and conservation groups again challenged that decision. In 2022, a federal judge vacated the FWS’s 2020 decision, thereby requiring FWS to make a new determination by the end of November 2023. On November 29, 2023, FWS issued a final rule to list the wolverine in the contiguous U.S. as threatened under the ESA.
Most recently, in early 2026, the same petitioners filed a lawsuit to compel the FSW to designate critical habitat – a requirement for ESA listing – for the wolverine in the contiguous U.S.
State by State Management Status
Washington: The wolverine is consider Endangered under Washington wildlife law. As such, hunting and trapping is not allowed.
Oregon: Wolverines are treated as a species of conservation concern. There is no specific hunting or trapping season for wolverines in Oregon.
California: The wolverine is consider Endangered in California. There is no specific hunting or trapping season for wolverines in California.
Idaho: Wolverines are designated as a Protected Nongame Species in Idaho; therefore,
Montana: The wolverine is considered a “Species of Greatest Conservation Need.” While the species has been classified as a regulated furbearer, the trapping seasons have been closed since 2012, and wolverine harvest is no longer permitted.
Wyoming: Wolverines are classified as a protected nongame mammal; therefore, wolverines cannot be hunted or trapped in the state.
Colorado: The wolverine has been extirpated from Colorado for close to 100 years. In 2024, Colorado passed a law authorizing Colorado Parks and Wildlife, in coordination with USGWS, to reintroduce wolverines to the state’s high-country mountains.
East of the U.S. Rocky Mountains, wolverines have been extirpated for many decades.