Thank you for helping wolves!
A Washington State Wolf Management Plan is on its way to becoming a reality. Please lend your voice to support a plan based on sound science, and help wolves return to their vital ecological role in our state. An online action form make it easy to add your howl to the pack!
WOW! More than 1,000 citizens joined the call for healthier, more complete ecosystems by howling up for wolf recovery in Washington. Thank you to everyone who made their voice heard for this important animal.
Next, a blind-review panel of wildlife scientists will have a look at the plan and make their recommendations. We are hopeful that science will win out over politics and some of our concerns, detailed below, will be addressed. We'll keep you posted on next steps. Thank you all for your support. You are making a better Northwest with your involvement.
Just4fun! If you are one of the awesome people who spoke up for wolves, tweet or post to Facebook with #Rock4Wolves. We will be giving big props to our online supporters, so let us know that you are out there and let us thank you properly!
Here's the original story:
It's confirmed: Wolves are making a comeback to Washington, good news for the Evergreen State. Wolves play an important ecological role, especially in the restoration of the predator-prey relationship and the effect that has on the overall health of ecosystems.
After two years of hard work by members of the Washington State Wolf Working Group, including Conservation Northwest, a draft wolf conservation and management plan is finally open for public comment.
Please join us in ensuring a healthy future for wolves in Washington. Let the WDFW know that you value wolves and their positive effect on ecosystems and wish to see their recovery to our state's wildlife and habitat.
Other key talking points:
- Alternative 3 provides the highest likelihood that wolves will be fully recovered in Washington state.
- The plan should increase the number of established breeding pairs before any delisting is proposed. It should also give a stronger evaluation of what measures can be taken to ensure that wolves will be able to move safely from northeast Washington to the Cascades.
- The state should eliminate the reckless "caught in the act" killing provision for livestock owners in the early phases of recovery. Investing in non-lethal deterrent methods and providing livestock owners with a fair compensation package are more effective approaches at the early stages of wolf recovery.
- Translocation of wolves to the southern Cascades and Olympic mountains from areas of Washington with a healthy wolf population is a proactive way to speed recovery and delisting.
