Urgent Notices and Actions

• Please submit comments on the draft Best Available Science Policy, technically due on May 24. However, since we do not expect a decision on the policy immediately, you can still send in comments on the policy after that date. Submit comments by emailing commission@dfw.wa.gov.
• Please submit comments supporting the Commission’s proposed CR-102 on cougar-hunting by June 21, 2024. In addition to testifying at the June Commission meeting, you can submit comments online, by sending an email to 2024cougarseasonsetting@publicinput.com,, or by leaving a voicemail message at 855-925-2801 and entering project code 1261.
• Please continue to send comments opposing the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s CR-102 proposing a rule to downlist wolves from endangered to sensitive and its Determination of Nonsignificance for the new rule under the State Environmental Policy Act. Although the official deadline has passed, you can still submit comments up to the day of the vote (July 19, 2024); however, these comments may not be included in the official decision record.
  • You can comment on the proposed rule by emailing graywolf2024@publicinput.com and commission@dfw.wa.gov.
  • See Washington Wildlife First’s updated talking points.
  • For context, you may want to reference the updated Gray Wolf Periodic Status Review, last year’s Gray Wolf Periodic Status Review, the 2023 version of the Petracca et. al study on which the original PSR was based (and which the new PSR still references), and the final, peer-reviewed version of the Petracca et. al study published in January 2024.

Events

• WDFW Commission Meetings
  • Please plan now to attend the Commission’s next in-person meeting, to be held June 20-22 at Heathman Lodge, 7801 NE Greenwood Drive, Vancouver, Washington. At this meeting, the Commission may take action on a revised Best Available Science Policy, which still contains problematic language to the effect that “in areas of contested interpretation or application of science, or conflicting results of important scientific studies, the information provided by Department staff shall be considered acceptable and sufficient.” There will also like be a public hearing on the cougar CR-102, and this meeting will likely be the last opportunity to testify about WDFW’s proposed rule to downlist wolves. It is important for us to show up in force, so please come even if you prefer not to testify!
  • The Commission will also meet online on June 14 for a special Fish Committee session. There is no agenda yet, and no information about this meeting in Year-at-a-Glance.
• Other Events
  • Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance’s “Resilience Webinar: Howling Through Change” will take place online at 5 p.m. tonight. This webinar is for “advocates working in wildlife conservation, habitat and environmental protection, climate recovery, biodiversity protection, social and environmental justice, and environmental education” and aims “to equip advocates with the tools and resources they need to navigate advocacy effectively while maintaining well-being.” Register here.
  • June is Orca Action Month! Activists will be celebrating our killer whales and taking action down the West Coast all month with beach clean-ups, family activities, riparian restoration, and more. Upcoming highlights include an opening webinar on May 29, habitat restoration events in Bothell and Woodinville on June 1 and in Auburn on June 8, a walking tour with Puget Soundkeeper in Olympia on June 1, multimedia talks on the new book Big River: Resilience and Renewal in the Columbia Basin in Olympia on June 4 and in Seattle on June 5, and much more. See the full event calendar here.
  • Friends of the San Juans will host a free coastal trail walk starting at 1567 West Side Rd in Friday Harbor from 4-6 p.m. on June 7. Jess Newley of Friends of the San Juans will show “some of Jess’s favorite locations for underwater videography (by land, of course!).” Register here.
  • The Intercommunity Peace & Justice Center will host a showing of Covenant of the Salmon People on June 4 at 6:30 PM at the St. James Cathedral Pastoral Outreach Center at 907 Columbia Street in Seattle.

More Action Items

Washington

• WDFW is asking the public for information on the ground squirrel to assist in the determination of the species’ conservation status. Send your observations to TandEpubliccom@dfw.wa.gov or by mailing Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife ATTN: Taylor Cotten, P.O. Box 43141, Olympia, WA 98504. Reports will be posted to the species status review page. (WDFW has not provided a deadline.)
• Please support Legal Rights for the Salish Sea and Northwest Animal Rights Network’s petition to Governor Inslee in support of rights for Southern Resident killer whales.

• WildEarth Guardians is asking for signatures on its petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service not to remove grizzly bears from the Endangered Species Act list. Click here to read WildEarth Guardians’ comment to the Service.
• Hogs for Hope: A Ride for Wolves is raising money for Wolves of the Rockies and Wyoming Wildlife Advocates in reaction to Cody Roberts’ torture and killing of a wolf. The ride left Austin, Texas on May 23 and arrives in Daniel, Wyoming on May 26.
• Please support Center for a Humane Economy’s petition to the Sublette County Attorney to press felony charges against Roberts for animal cruelty.