Washington Wildlife First

06/01/2026

Wildlife needs more than supporters. It needs people willing to show up.🦅

The next Washington Fish & Wildlife Commission meeting is June 12–13 in Olympia, with yet another opportunity for wildlife advocates to speak up for prioritizing wildlife protection and well-being. Too often, commissioners hear from the same small group demanding more opportunities to kill wildlife and fewer protections for wild animals and their habitats. They need to hear from the rest of us.

Whether you testify in person or virtually, or simply attend to show you support wildlife, your presence matters. New voices change conversations. New faces challenge outdated assumptions. And public participation is one of the most powerful tools we have to shape wildlife policy.

If you’re not sure where to start, we've got you covered.

📣 Join Washington Wildlife First and NARN ( Northwest Animal Rights Network ) for our free, public, virtual (zoom) Testimony Prep Workshop:

📅 Tuesday, June 9
⏰ 6:00–7:00 PM
📲 Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/3v4Gx4uJSiiuKtZGUl2jPg

We'll walk through how to register, craft effective testimony, and what to expect, whether you're attending virtually or in person.

And after a long day advocating for wildlife in front of the commission, join us for a beer, good conversation, and some well-earned relaxation at Three Magnets Brewing Co. between 5-7 pm on Friday, June 12. Whether you testified, attended, or are simply passionate about wildlife, we'd love to meet you.

We'll be sharing meeting updates, agenda highlights, and testimony opportunities soon. Stay tuned, and we'll see you in Olympia 👋

05/28/2026

🚨Email Director Susewind Today: Demand WDFW Reverse the Aladdin Valley Wolf Kill Order! On Saturday, May 22nd, WDFW Director Kelly Susewind authorized the killing of yet another state-endangered wolf, this time in the Aladdin Valley area of northeast Washington, following recent predations on cattle in the area. The Department has acknowledged that it does not know which wolf — or even which pack — was responsible.

Below is our statement on this decision:

“We denounce WDFW’s decision to authorize killing a state-endangered wolf in the Aladdin Valley area, particularly when the Department has acknowledged that multiple wolf packs overlap in the area and has not publicly identified which pack—or which individual wolf—was responsible for the depredations. Killing a wolf who may not have been involved is not science-based management. It is an act of desperation dressed up as policy.

WDFW’s own timeline raises serious concerns. Two depredations occurred on May 17, another occurred the next day, and only after that did WDFW and the producer ramp up deterrents such as turbo-fladry and trapping/collaring. Yet within days, Director Susewind authorized lethal control. That means the Department moved toward killing before giving these new non-lethal measures meaningful time to work.

The Department also has no scientific basis for claiming that killing one member of a wolf family will “teach” surviving wolves not to prey on livestock. The best available science shows that wolf-killing is unpredictable, often ineffective, and can even increase domestic animal losses. Washington has already seen the danger of destabilizing packs, including last fall with the Sherman pack.

Finally, WDFW must stop withholding critical information from the public. Were these cattle on public lands? How long had each deterrent been in place? Were conditions suitable for turbo-fladry to work? What attractants were present? The public should not have to file lawsuits to learn the facts behind decisions to kill endangered wildlife.”

Washington must do better. 📨 Please email WDFW Director Kelly Susewind and the Fish & Wildlife Commissioners today and urge them to reverse this decision and prioritize effective non-lethal coexistence measures: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

05/20/2026

🚨 BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: Introducing Collusion Confidential 🚨

Today, we’re excited to launch a major new series exposing how leadership at the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, in collaboration with hunting-rights organizations, is seeking to discredit, marginalize, and silence advocates and commissioners who challenge them.

This is a story about power, retaliation, public participation, and who gets to have a voice in the future of ’s wildlife.

In Episode 1, How Free Speech Became ‘Collusion’,” we explore how ordinary advocacy for wildlife protection and communication with public officials became the basis for manufactured, inflammatory, and misleading allegations against commissioners and advocates alike.
If exercising our right to work with public officials to advance the interests of wildlife is “collusion,” then count us in.

Because when speaking up for wildlife is treated as misconduct, something much bigger is going on. Please watch. Share widely. And stay tuned.

Until then, keep speaking up for wildlife. And yes, keep “colluding.” Raise your voices for wildlife with us at https://wawildlifefirst.org/not-my-wdfw/raising-our-voices-for-wildlife/ 👈

05/19/2026

05/18/2026

See you tonight! Registration info below.

Join us tomorrow, May 18th at 6pm for a virtual workshop to help you craft your testimony for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) commission meeting next month. We will go over talking points, how to register, and what the day-of will look like for those both speaking virtually and in person.

The upcoming WDFW meeting is scheduled for June 12-13 in Olympia, WA.
RSVP for the workshop at tinyurl.com/wdfwtestify
Learn more about what's happening: narn.org/cougars-in-wa

05/15/2026

🦊🐋Today is Endangered Species Day—and in Washington, the reality is sobering. At least 48 species are state-listed endangered, threatened, and sensitive in Washington. Another 69 are at risk of being listed. Together, they reflect a much broader crisis unfolding across our ecosystems.

From the Cascade red fox, threatened by rodenticides that move through entire food webs, to mountain goats navigating a rapidly changing alpine climate—even as the state continues to allow their trophy hunting… from wolves still killed for the livestock industry, to Southern Resident orcas struggling as salmon disappear…to golden eagles and ferruginous hawks exposed to lead, toxic chemicals, and ongoing habitat loss—the threats are real, cumulative, and often preventable.

At Washington Wildlife First, we are working through litigation, legislation, policy reform, and public advocacy to push for stronger protections, greater accountability, and a system that reflects the interests of Washingtonians in protecting wildlife. Because wildlife are not resources or ecological machines. They are living beings whose lives matter.

If we want a different future for them, it will take all of us.

Join the movement by signing up for updates and our new “Raising Our Voices for
Wildlife” campaign 📣 https://wawildlifefirst.org/not-my-wdfw/raising-our-voices-for-wildlife/

05/14/2026

🐺🌿🐀 Join us on May 28 for our FREE webinar, How Rodenticides Threaten Bobcats, Coyotes, & Urban Wildlife 🐀🌿🐱

Wildlife poisoning doesn’t stop with rodents.

When hawks, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, or mountain lions consume poisoned rats and mice, toxic rodenticides move up the food chain, weakening wildlife, disrupting ecosystems, and threatening the health of entire communities.

Join Project Coyote’s State Advocacy Manager, Kiely Smith, for a compelling conversation with Dr. Laurel Serieys, Conservation Biologist & Post-Doctoral Researcher, The Ohio State University Urban Coyote Research Project, and Lisa Owens Viani, founder and executive director of Raptors Are The Solution (RATS). Together, we’ll explore the hidden impacts of rodenticides on wildlife and discuss effective, non-lethal approaches to managing rodents while protecting the carnivores who help keep ecosystems in balance.

Webinar Details:
🐾 What: How Rodenticides Threaten Bobcats, Coyotes, & Urban Wildlife
📅 Date: May 28, 2026
🕒 Time: 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET
📍 Where: Zoom
🔗 Register: https://loom.ly/oBtqD10

📷 Rick Cameron

05/07/2026

🌊Thanks to all of you for helping us make a big splash during this year’s Washington GivesBIG campaign! We reached our $15K goal, unlocking our full match, and doubling that amount to $30K!

These contributions are crucial to our ongoing fight to protect Washington’s wild lives and ensure that the voices of wildlife advocates are both heard and respected. Please stay tuned for other ways to raise your voice for wildlife, by following us and signing up for our action alerts: https://wawildlifefirst.org/contact-form/