‘Better than Idaho’ Isn’t Good Enough.

Washington’s Wolves Deserve a Real Future.

Details:

Wolves have returned to Washington after being wiped off the state map by the livestock industry. Unlike other Western states like Idaho, the Washington public firmly supports wolf recovery. But the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is radically out of touch with the values of average Washingtonians, and continues to use taxpayer dollars to kill wolves at the behest of a few livestock owners.

Washington should be leading the country in science-based wolf management. Instead, the state continues to kill wolves in public forests on behalf of special interests, while falling short of its promise to the public that it will employ effective nonlethal strategies to avoid conflict.

This summer, the state Fish and Wildlife Commission defied Gov. Jay Inslee’s orders to adopt a rule to address these failures and bring accountability and transparency to the management of its endangered wolves. 

Let’s discuss what’s next for wolf management in Washington—and how we can turn the state into one of the best places in the country to be a wolf!

Panelists:

• Samantha Bruegger, Executive Director, Washington Wildlife First.  Sam will moderate the discussion. Samantha previously focused on carnivore issues across the West as the Wildlife Coexistence Campaigner at WildEarth Guardians, and now leads our campaign to reform Washington’s wildlife management.

• Claire Loebs Davis, Attorney, Animal & Earth Advocates. Claire has taken the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to court several times to try to halt its killing of wolves.

• Amaroq Weiss, Senior Wolf Advocate, Center for Biological Diversity. Amaroq is a biologist, former attorney and one of the nation’s leading wolf conservation advocates.