Washington's Wolf Population Grew 16 Percent Last Year

OLYMPIA, WA — The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is celebrating after a recent survey found the state's wolf population is continuing to recover. The 2021 annual wolf report, released Saturday by the WDFW, found that the wolf population had grown 16 percent last year over the year before.

"Washington’s wolves continue to progress toward recovery, with four new packs documented in four different counties of the state in 2021,” said Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Kelly Susewind.

The four new packs are the Columbia Pack, spotted in Columbia County, the Keller Ridge Pack from Ferry County, the Dominion Pack in Stevens County, and the Shady Pass pack in Chelan County. The Naneum Pack was not found during the count, and as a result was removed from the tally, but overall the survey found strong growth for the previously-struggling wolf population.

The survey marks the 13th consecutive year that the Evergreen State's wolf population has grown. What started as just a handful of surviving wolves in 2008 has now blossomed into more than 200, and experts say they're hopeful the trend will continue.

Gray wolves have been listed as endangered in Washington since 1980. Once, the animals were common across the state, but as settlers moved into the area they poisoned, trapped and hunted the animals to near extinction from the 1850s to early 1900s. The animals were believed to be eradicated from the state by the 1930s, WDFW said, but were rediscovered in July 2008 in western Okanogan and northern Chelan counties. Since 2008, their population has grown an average of 25 percent per year.

Wolves were ostensibly hunted to protect livestock, but few wolves actually attack Washington ranches. Of the 33 packs tallied in 2021, 76 percent were not involved in any known livestock depredation. Eight packs did target livestock, but six of those eight were involved in just one or two incidents. The most problematic group was the Columbia pack, which had two wolves killed in 2021; one by the WDFW and another by a landowner who was permitted to use deadly force to protect his livestock.

“Although wolf-livestock interactions have remained consistent, we recorded the lowest number of livestock depredation incidents in the state since 2017 and removed the fewest wolves in response to conflict since 2015,” said WDFW Wolf Policy Lead Julia Smith. “We’re committed to promoting the proactive use of non-lethal deterrents to minimize wolf-livestock conflict, and proud to demonstrate that our approach is working thanks to the dedication of livestock producers, non-governmental organizations assisting directly with livestock monitoring, and WDFW staff.”

>> Read the full survey from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.