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A wolf leaves Yellowstone National Park. It follows the scent of elk, crosses an invisible boundary and enters Montana. Nothing in the landscape tells it that the rules have changed. Yet an animal protected and studied inside the park can now legally be shot or trapped. We call Yellowstone’s wolf restoration a conservation triumph. Why, then, do we permit the killing of the very animals we worked so hard to bring back?

Murdering wolves is the antithesis to conservation.

In 1995, gray wolves returned to Yellowstone after decades of absence following their extermination from the region. Their restoration became one of America’s most celebrated conservation achievements. But the protections surrounding these animals remain fragmented. Yellowstone’s wolves regularly move beyond park boundaries, particularly when following migrating elk. They cannot distinguish a protected landscape from a hunting district. We have created an unfair playing field, and then we congratulate ourselves when the wolf loses.

In February 2021, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte trapped and shot a radio-collared wolf known as 1155M, approximately 10 miles north of Yellowstone. The wolf had been born inside the park and collared by wildlife biologists. Gianforte had a valid wolf license but had not completed the required wolf-trapping certification course. State wildlife officials issued him a written warning. The governor subsequently completed the course. His actions were widely reported, but the larger question extends beyond one public official: What does it say about our conservation priorities when animals tracked for scientific research can be legally killed just outside the landscapes established to protect them?

The consequences are measurable. According to Yellowstone’s 2022 Wolf Project report, approximately 19 percent of wolves primarily using the park were killed during the 2021–22 hunting season. Researchers also........

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