Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) staff have worked closely with the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission for several years regarding staff’s recommendation to reclassify gray wolves from endangered to sensitive status in Washington, following the periodic status review completed on Feb. 7, 2024.
The Commission today (July 19, 2024) made a decision to retain the state status of gray wolves as endangered. WDFW will continue to work closely with partners, stakeholders, and communities, just as over the past decade, on the recovery, conservation, and management of wolves in Washington, with a focus on reducing conflict between wolves and livestock, emphasizing proactive nonlethal conflict deterrence, achieving statewide recovery objectives, and supporting wolf expansion into all suitable habitat statewide.
WDFW will revisit the state status of wolves as part of a future periodic status review process or sooner if the recovery objectives of the state’s Wolf Conservation and Management Plan are met within five years.