Washington Wildlife First

10/15/2026

An important call to action from Wild Fish Conservancy: Join Stand Up for Our Salmon on Thursday, October 22, in Sequim—and make your voice heard at the Pacific Salmon Commission’s Fall Meeting.

The timing is critical: as policymakers renegotiate the Pacific Salmon Treaty ahead of 2028, decisions made now will shape whether more salmon return to their home rivers—and the future of Southern Resident killer whales and coastal communities—for years to come.

As part of Let Our Salmon Come Home, last month we urged the Pacific Fisheries Management Council to pursue coordinated, coastwide accounting of cumulative fishing mortality and more equitable management across jurisdictions. Salmon need all of us speaking up for them and the ecosystems, wildlife, and communities that depend on their return.

🗓 📣 Attend the event and register to provide public comment—in person or virtually: https://letoursalmoncomehome.org/sequim/

The fate of our salmon, Southern Resident killer whales, and coastal communities is being decided now—and the public has its most consequential opportunity in a generation to help shape what comes next.

Next Thursday, October 22, the Pacific Salmon Commission convenes in Sequim, Washington, for its 2026 Fall Meeting, and you have a chance to raise your voice.

As policymakers renegotiate the Pacific Salmon Treaty ahead of 2028, it’s critical they hear directly from the public, not just agency and industry interests. Join us for a day of action as we call for reform of unsustainable ocean fisheries and Let Our Salmon Come Home.

STAND UP FOR OUR SALMON
📅 Thursday, October 22
📍 Sequim, Washington

Register now to join us in person, or explore virtual options for participation: letoursalmoncomehome.org/sequim/

10/06/2026

Today is the last day for Earth Gives and you all are stepping up big to support WA wildlife! You've already raised over $7K 🎉You have till midnight to make your gift go further with our matching campaign.

There are many ways to give, so please see the options below to decide the best option for you - every dollar helps!

🐾 Give a one-time gift of at least $50 to help us reach our goal
🐾 Become a monthly donor of at least $10/month
🐾 Give a qualified charitable distribution from your IRA
🐾 If you have a donor-advised-fund, dedicate it to WA wildlife
🐾 Tag your fellow wildlife advocates and share this post to raise awareness

Click below to learn more about how we’re taking a stand for both wildlife and democracy in WA and donate today: https://www.earthgives.org/organization/Wawildlifefirst

10/05/2026

⏰Tomorrow is the final day to support our Earth Gives campaign and double your impact for Washington’s wildlife! Gifts will be matched dollar for dollar while matching funds remain.

Washington Wildlife First protects wild lives in court, before the Fish and Wildlife Commission, in the Legislature, and through public advocacy. We’ve successfully petitioned the WA Wildlife Commission to consider reforms addressing excessive human-caused mortality of black bears and cougars, helping secure a new rule limiting human-caused cougar mortality and improved, science-based black bear management. We continue to advocate for stronger wolf protections and prevention-first coexistence policies, going to court when necessary to protect wolf families, while opposing efforts to weaken protections for sea lions and seals.

We are also defending the people who make this work possible. Our federal civil-rights lawsuit alleges that WDFW leaders targeted wildlife advocates and undermined independent oversight in retaliation for protected advocacy.
Protecting wildlife requires both better policies and the freedom to demand them. Stand with Washington’s wildlife—and those who speak for them.

Donate today:
https://www.earthgives.org/organization/Wawildlifefirst
🐺🐾

10/02/2026

"This kill order exposes WDFW’s real priority: responding to livestock owners comes before protecting state-endangered wolves. The Department killed an adult male Couse Pack wolf on September 17. After only one subsequent predation event involving an injured calf—and without trying anything different—WDFW authorized more killing.

WDFW justifies that decision by aggregating events across a rolling 10-month window. That is precisely the problem with this arbitrary window: it treats incidents separated by months as evidence of continuing pack behavior, even though the Department has identified no scientific support for that inference. It also allows WDFW to cite measures used earlier in the grazing season—such as delaying turnout until calves exceeded 200 pounds and avoiding high-wolf-activity areas while calves were smaller—as proof that nonlethal alternatives have now been exhausted, even though those measures are no longer relevant to the present circumstances.

Alarmingly, its public notice states neither how many wolves may be killed nor when the order expires. Publicly, this is an open-ended authorization, and an extraordinary measure toward a state-endangered species.

WDFW also relies on only two older, contested studies that do not support its use of lethal methods. One found little evidence that killing wolves prevented subsequent cattle losses any better than unsuccessful trapping. The other found only limited short-term effects already uncertain after seven days (note the latest incident happened on 9/23) and absent after 14 (and arguably earlier). Yet WDFW has never publicly documented trying trapping without killing as a conflict response before declaring, as it usually does, that no other nonlethal option could work. In fact, in 15 years, the Department has yet to provide any data or evidence from its own implementation of lethal methods that supports their effectiveness in preventing future conflicts.

Meanwhile, the Department continues to blatantly ignore the broader, more robust research showing that killing wolves does not reliably prevent livestock losses and may make conflicts worse. This and many other cases illustrate the problem: killing did not prevent another predation. And the claim that killing wolves days after an incident teaches surviving wolves to avoid livestock lacks any scientific evidence. That makes no more behavioral sense than scolding your dogs days after they misbehaved and expecting them to understand why. The assumption would be laughable if it wasn’t so tragic.

When killing fails, more killing is not science; it is a preference. Both wolves and the Washington public deserve better."

- Fran Santiago-Ávila, Science & Advocacy Director, Washington Wildlife First

Agency officials could not say how many wolves would be killed, but said other nonlethal measures would not be appropriate for the situation.

09/30/2026

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has now authorized the lethal removal of additional wolves from the Couse Pack territory, just days after an adult male from the pack was killed on September 17.

Just how many wolves will they kill from this family?

Continued reliance on killing wolves is not a long-term solution to livestock conflict. Removing individual wolves does not address the factors that can lead to these conflicts in the first place. Now, additional members of the Couse Pack could be killed.

The agency states that killing these wolves won’t jeopardize wolf recovery in the region or statewide – so it’s ok to kill them? What if it did jeopardize recovery? Wolves aren’t expendable once they’re no longer needed to achieve recovery goals.

📣Take action: Email WDFW Director Kelly Susewind and the WDFW Commissioners and urge them to protect the Couse Pack.

Live in Washington and want to get more involved in protecting wildlife in your state? Follow Washington Wildlife First for more updates.

09/24/2026

🚨 THE COUSE PACK IS AGAIN IN THE CROSSHAIRS. 🐺

Only one week after WDFW killed an adult male from the Couse Pack, the Department is already considering another kill order—potentially its second authorization against this pack in three weeks.

WDFW claims killing another wolf may “change pack behavior.” But there is ZERO evidence that killing a pack member days after an incident teaches surviving wolves to avoid livestock. That makes no more sense than scolding your dogs days after they misbehaved and expecting them to understand why.

WDFW also relies on two outdated studies that do not support its sweeping conclusions. One found little evidence that killing wolves prevented subsequent cattle losses any better than unsuccessful trapping. The other found only limited short-term effects, already uncertain after 7 days.

Yet WDFW never attempts trapping without killing before turning to kill orders. It also ignores the broader, more robust research showing that killing wolves does not reliably prevent livestock losses and may make conflicts worse. This situation is a clear example.

Washingtonians want our state-endangered wolves protected—not sacrificed for beef production, especially on public lands. WDFW should listen to the full body of science and the public’s values, and attempt all methods before resorting to killing.

Please email WDFW Director Kelly Susewind and the Fish and Wildlife Commissioners today. Urge them not to authorize another kill order against the Couse Pack and to prioritize effective, properly implemented, nonlethal coexistence measures:

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Thank you for standing up for the Couse Pack! ✊

09/21/2026

🌊Now through October 5, join Washington Wildlife First and Earth Gives to double your impact for Washington’s wildlife! Your donation will be matched dollar for dollar while matching funds remain.

With supporters like you, we have helped secure more protective cougar-hunting rules, defend the continued closure of Washington’s spring bear hunt, and maintain endangered-species protections for wolves statewide. We’re also opposing wolf kill orders, challenging agency actions in court, and defending sea lions and seals from efforts to weaken their protections.

We're making our adversaries angry because what we're doing is working, thanks to passionate wildlife advocates like you! Our work—and our campaign to defend the right to raise our voices for wildlife—is drawing national attention and pushback from powerful interests. That makes your voice and support more important than ever.

💪Don't let up the fight - donate today: https://www.earthgives.org/organization/Wawildlifefirst 👈

09/14/2026

Our virtual Q&A with Director Kelly Susewind has been rescheduled to next Tuesday, Sept 15th.
The director is responsible for enacting policy all over Washington State to protect animals and ecosystems. Join us to ask questions and express your concerns over WDFW's management of wildlife.
RSVP here: tinyurl.com/kellyqa