Dear Defender of Wildlife,

Wolves in northeast Washington are caught in an endless cycle of killing – and Governor Jay Inslee has had enough.

Year after year, the state has sanctioned the killing of wolves in a region of the Kettle River Range, on federal public lands near the Idaho border. The rationale for these killings is ongoing conflict between wolves and livestock grazing in the region. But these public lands are prime wolf habitat, and the state has never adequately required non-lethal methods of reducing wolf-livestock conflicts.

Instead, killing these wolves has become the default in Washington.

TAKE ACTION: Tell the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to do away with its failed approach to its wolf program.

Recently, Washington’s governor Jay Inslee sent a letter to the WDFW demanding that the department rethink its approach to wolf management in the Kettle River area.

"I write to ask that you make changes in the gray wolf recovery program," he wrote, "...to significantly reduce the need for lethal removal of this species."

"We must look for other strategies," Inslee continued, "that address the unique nature of this particular geographical area, an area which has been characterized as prime gray wolf habitat...The status quo of annual lethal removal is simply unacceptable."

We could not agree more with Governor Inslee. That’s why we’re asking you to join us in calling for a wolf recovery program in Washington that supports common-sense efforts to help wolves and people coexist!

The WDFW needs to know that the public won't stand for senseless wolf killings. Send them a message right now!

Defender of Wildlife, we cannot stand for Washington's wolves to be gunned down again and again. Please take action for a better future for wolves today!

Sincerely,

Quinn Read Northwest Program Director Defenders of Wildlife