We are Howling for Change in Seattle, June 19-24!

The Fish and Wildlife Commission is meeting June 22-23 in Seattle

Join us for a week of events around the Commission meeting including Wildlife Trivia Night! We will also host discussions with experts about wolves, wild fish, cougars, and the Commission’s first ever Conservation Policy.

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission is meeting in Seattle on June 22-23! This will mark the first time in 25 years that the Commission has come to Seattle to hear what the people of King County have to say. We need to show how much people in Washington’s urban areas care about the state’s fish and wildlife, and we are counting on you to help!

The Commission is supposed to protect and preserve wildlife on behalf of all Washingtonians. But the Commission has historically shunned the state’s population centers. In addition to snubbing King County for the past 25 years, it has never met in Pierce or Snohomish counties—avoiding the state’s three most populous counties where nearly 4 million people live.

We hope the upcoming meeting in Seattle is a sign the Commission has realized that it has a duty to consider the values and interests of all Washingtonians. That is why it is so crucial for all of us who support Washington’s fish and wildlife to show up to make our presence felt and our voices heard.

To commemorate this landmark event, Washington Wildlife First and several of our coalition partners are hosting a welcome room during the June 22-23 Commission meeting, as well as a slate of activities throughout the week, including meetings where people can learn more about Department policies harming Washington’s wolves, wild salmon, apex predators, and beavers.

We have one more event this week:

Saturday, June 24

Conservation First? Lemonade-and-Learn @ Japanese Garden at the Washington Park Arboretum

  • Time: 2:00-3:30 p.m. We will host a discussion during the first hour and then remain to answer questions.
  • Place: Tateuchi Community Room, Japanese Garden, Washington Park Arboretum, 1075 East Lake Washington Boulevard, Seattle.
  • Details: The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is supposed to “protect…and preserve” wildlife on behalf of all Washingtonians—an increasingly crucial role in the era of climate change and global biodiversity loss. Instead, it focuses on serving hunters and anglers. As one former Commissioner commented: “What we do is produce animals for harvest, we plant pheasants and fish, we’re producing crops.” Meanwhile, the Department permits the killing of wildlife essential to healthy ecosystems, including allowing beavers to be trapped and drowned for their fur. Can a the proposed conservation policy finally put “conservation first”? Join Washington Wildlife First and Northwest Animal Rights Network to discuss how you can help create a Department of Fish and Wildlife that prioritizes conservation over consumption.
  • Cost: Free