WDFW's wolf policy is a failure in ethics, science, and governance

Wolves are still endangered, and the trend just turned negative.

Wolves returned to Washington in 2008 and remain state-endangered (and federally endangered across the western two-thirds). After modest gains, 2024 saw the first decline since recolonization: the statewide population estimate fell by 9% (from 254 to 230 wolves) and breeding pairs plummeted by a quarter (from 24 to 18).

That decline tracks a sharp rise in wolf killing (by tribal hunting, poaching, and WDFW “conflict” kills) in recent years: 128 known deaths from 2021–2024, including 35 in 2024 alone. Poaching repeatedly erased footholds in the South Cascades/Northwest Coast recovery zone, blocking the state from meeting its own recovery goals, set in 2011.

Amid these bleak trends, the Department audaciously moved to lower protections for wolves, until the public stepped in.

In 2024, Department leadership recommended the Commission downlist wolves. Thanks to our efforts alongside other advocates, the Commission rejected that proposal, and 2025 legislative attempts (supported by Department leadership) to override the decision also failed. Those outcomes kept wolves listed as state endangered and reflect broad support for science- and ethics-based policy.

The Department’s policies have failed to address wolf killing.

The Department has refused to encourage the Colville Tribes to reduce their wolf hunting—the largest source of mortality for Washington’s wolves since 2019. Another major driver of deaths is the Department’s wolf-livestock program: WDFW has killed over 50 state-endangered wolves; most of them on behalf of a single ranching family.

Over 80% of targeted wolves were killed, at least in part, following predations involving largely unsupervised cattle grazing on public lands in the Colville National Forest—prime wolf habitat where wildlife and the public bear the ecological costs. Most Washingtonians oppose killing wolves under these circumstances, and believe wolves deserve protection as individuals and family groups.

The Department also asserts that lethal control “changes pack behavior,” but lacks credible scientific evidence that killing reduces future conflicts, while both science and repeated kill orders in the same areas year after year tell a different story.

By contrast, robust non-lethal methods and sound husbandry are consistently proven to be the best way to prevent losses and protect wolves.

Wolf management does not reflect Washington values, ethics, or science.

Progress demands leadership that prioritizes non-lethal coexistence, investigates and deters poaching, ends conflict killing on public lands, and grounds decisions in science, ethics, and the broad public interest.

Today’s pattern—mounting wolf killing, concentrated “conflict” kills for one producer, and stalled recovery—illustrates the governance failures at the heart of Not My WDFW.

For more information on this issue and our broader Not My WDFW campaign, please explore the resources linked below.

Learn more

• The Ethical Animal Blog: Wolves Teach Us What Family Means
• Court Greenlights WDFW’s Killing of More Sherman Wolves; Now Decisionmakers Need to Hear from You
• Washington Wildlife First Obtains TRO Stopping State from Killing Sherman Pack Wolves
• Washington Wildlife First Denounces WDFW Execution of Sherman Pack Wolf
• Wolf Population Drops by 9% in 2024, Declining for First Time Since 2008
• WA Wildlife Commission Votes to Reduce Cougar Mortality and Continue Endangered-Species Protections for Wolves
• Fighting for Wildlife in the 2025 WA State Legislature
• Washington Wildlife First Poll of Voter’s Attitudes on Wildlife Issues