What is Washington’s wolf conservation and management plan and why is it being developed?
In late 2006, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) began developing a wolf conservation and management plan for the state. This was in response to several factors: (1) the state endangered status of wolves, which requires the development of a state recovery plan, (2) the expectation that the wolf population in Washington would be increasing through natural dispersal of animals from adjacent populations in Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia, and (3) the eventual return of wolf management to the state after federal delisting. The plan has two important purposes. First, it provides conservation objectives for recovering the species (i.e., downlisting and delisting it under state law) and identifies strategies for achieving recovery. Second, it provides management measures for addressing and reducing conflicts, especially those related to livestock and wild game populations. The plan is currently in draft form and will be submitted to the Washington Fish and Wildlife Com
