Washington gray wolves to remain classified as an endangered species

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission has decided not to change the endangered species status of gray wolves in the state.

In a pair of 5-4 votes on Friday, the commission rejected the recommendation of the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife to downlist the wolves to either "threatened" or "sensitive." Downlisting the wolves would have meant lesser penalties for poaching, as well as somewhat easier access to permits to kill wolves that attack livestock.

Ahead of the vote, Julia Smith, endangered species recovery manager at WDFW, told members of the state Fish and Wildlife Commission that the gray wolf would still be protected, even if its status were changed.

“Protective measures would remain for wolves in Washington if the proposed rule amendments are approved,” she said.

Smith told commissioners there was a 90-day public comment period on the proposed change.

“During that period we received almost 14,000 submissions and almost 90% of the submissions were copies or slight variations of six form letters,” Smith said, noting most of the those were in opposition to the reclassification of wolves.

Gov. Jay Inslee urged commission members not to downlist the gray wolf status to sensitive, arguing the future impacts of climate change– such as wildfires and droughts – could threaten the animals' recovery.

The state's gray wolf population has increased for 15 straight years, reaching a total population of 260, according to a count conducted by WDFW and Colville tribe.

As previously reported by The Center Square, those 260 wolves are in 42 packs. Since the first breeding pack was confirmed in 2008, the gray wolf population has grown by an average of 23% every year.

Pam Lewison, director of the Center for Agriculture at the Washington Policy Center think tank, said the wolves have rebounded significantly and that farmers with livestock are living with that fact.

“You may have a newborn calf that is born in the night and disappears without a trace, or you will see part of a tail or a hoof left behind, and that is it,” Lewison told The Center Square, adding that is evidence there are likely many more livestock kills from wolves than officially recorded by the state.

WDFW pointed out that lethal removal of wolves preying on livestock had been dramatically reduced in recent years.

In 2019, WDFW lethally removed nine wolves. This was followed by three in 2020, two in 2021, six in 2022, and two in 2023 – a 64% average reduction over the four years following 2019.

Reclassifying wolves as a sensitive species would have reduced maximum poaching penalties to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, compared to one year in prison and a $5,000 fine for poaching an endangered species.

As a sensitive species, wolves would have still been off limits to hunting or harassment.

Ultimately, commission members in the majority said there were too many concerns to downlist the species at this point in time.

“The standard is the biological status of the species, which in my understanding is too uncertain to change the listing," Commissioner Melanie Rowland said.