What Sets Us Apart?
Many national, state, and local organizations advocate for wildlife. What sets Washington Wildlife First apart is that we focus on something few others do: transforming Washington’s approach to fish & wildlife policy.
The root of many of Washington’s wildlife problems lies in the policies, practices, and governance structures of the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. And because the system itself is broken—dominated by special interests, resistant to science, and dismissive of wild animals themselves—real, lasting protection for wildlife requires systemic change.
That is our work.
We are the only nonprofit organization dedicated to shifting Washington’s wildlife policy from an exploitation-driven model to a science-grounded, democratic framework that centers care, consideration, and respect for wild animals and the ecosystems they depend on. What sets us apart even more fundamentally is our belief that wild animals are not “resources” to be “managed,” but living beings deserving of care and respect.
Our board, staff, and volunteers come from across the state and across disciplines—scientists, artists, lawyers, business leaders, journalists, community advocates, and former agency employees. Among us are lifelong conservationists, people who engage in subsistence hunting or fishing, vegans, and those who simply love wildlife from afar. Our diversity reflects Washington.
What unites us is a shared commitment to bringing about a paradigm shift: a move away from policies shaped by narrow interests and toward a system that uses credible science, values wild animals and their well-being, and prioritizes their protection.
This shift is necessary. And it is possible.
Change happens only when we make decision-makers pay attention
Over the years, we have tried every avenue to advance meaningful reform—collaboration, direct engagement, scientific critique, public comment, and litigation. Some efforts have helped, but many have run into entrenched interests and a culture that keeps too much out of public view.
That is why we are turning directly to the people of Washington.
Our Not My WDFW campaign brings long-overdue transparency to decisions that affect wild animals and the ecosystems they depend on. We expose patterns of mismanagement, disregard for science, and actions that contradict Washington’s care and respect for wildlife. We make visible what has too often been concealed, because Washingtonians deserve to know how their wildlife is being treated.
But transparency alone is not enough.
Change happens only when decision-makers are made to pay attention.
Whether it’s Department leadership, commissioners, the Governor’s Office, or legislators, they act when the public is informed, engaged, and persistent. Without sustained, organized pressure, the system defaults to the demands of the usual special interests. With it, elected and appointed officials are forced to care, and to act.
That public pressure is one of the most powerful tools for transformation.
Washingtonians consistently value wildlife, care deeply about science, and expect their public agencies to act with integrity, transparency, and respect for wild lives. By making information accessible and empowering people to participate, we are building a broad, informed constituency capable of driving the change that wildlife and our state urgently need.
meet our team