Wolves are fighting for survival and they need protection.
At the end of 2023, Washington's gray wolf population stood at approximately 260 wolves across 42 packs, with 25 breeding pairs. While wolves are federally delisted in the eastern third of the state, they remain protected under the Endangered Species Act in the western two-thirds. Additionally, wolves are listed as endangered under Washington state law (WAC 220-610-010) and are protected from hunting and trapping by RCW 77.15.120, which imposes significant penalties for poaching and restricts the issuance of permits to kill wolves. In 2024, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission considered, but ultimately decided against, downlisting wolves from endangered to a lower classification such as threatened or sensitive, recognizing the need for continued strong protections. Washingtonians play a crucial role in the survival and recovery of wolves in our state and nationwide.
Today, gray wolves survive in just 10% of their historical range in the lower 48 states. The Endangered Species Act offers them the strongest legal protection, prohibiting hunting and trapping. However, wolves in the Northern Rockies have already lost these federal safeguards, and new legislation threatens others.
Donât be deceived by the name. The Trust the Science Act (H.R. 764/S. 1895) aims to strip federal protections from gray wolves across the U.S. and prevent judicial review, meaning courts would have no power to overturn it. Having narrowly passed the House, itâs now under Senate consideration. Additionally, the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025 (H.R. 8998), currently circulating in Congress, includes a âriderâ in Section 130 to remove federal protections from gray wolves in the lower 48 states.
Without federal protections, hundreds of wolves are slaughtered each year in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming under extreme anti-wolf laws passed in these states. In Wisconsin, when federal protections were briefly lifted, trophy hunters killed 218 wolves in less than three daysâmore than double the allotted quota. If more wolves lose protections, we could see similar tragedies occur across the country.
Like gray wolves, the critically endangered Mexican gray wolves (âlobosâ) in Arizona and New Mexico are facing similar legislative threats, while red wolves in North Carolina are clinging perilously close to extinction in the wild. The urgency to protect America's wolves could not be greater.
Now is the time to actâbefore its too late. Vote for officials who will protect wolves and raise your voice for their future.
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