WEST COAST USA
Washington / Oregon / California / Alaska
Gray Wolf (Canis lupus)
Northwestern Gray Wolf (Canis lupus occidentalis)
Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf (Canis lupus irremotus)
Population Statistics April 2015 February 2016 (68), October 2016 – June 2017 (95), 2018 (126)
Legal Status; In western 2/3’s federally protected under ESA, east WA-state managed.
Resources
The Washington State Predator Prey Project
U S Fish and Wildlife Service (Grey wolves in Northern Rocky Mountains)
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Organizations
Conservation Northwest (Bellingham, Seattle, Washington)
Pacific Wolf Coalition (Washington, Oregon, California)
Gifford Pinchot Task Force (Vancouver, WA)
Washington Chapter Sierra Club (Washington State)
The Lands Council (Spokane, Wa)
Pacific Wolf Family
Washington News Resources & Publications
The Daily Herald (Everett, Washington)
Capitol Press (Washington)
The Seattle Times (Seattle, Washington)
LATEST WASHINGTON NEWS- Apex predators exploit advantageous snow conditions across hunting modes | Journal of Animal Ecology
02nd Nov 2025
- Lethal removal, range rider concerns raised at Washington Wolf Advisory Group meeting | KUOW -NPR
15th Jan 2022
- New gray wolf pack formed in Okanogan County | Methow Valley News
06th May 2021
- Wolf population continues to make a comeback in Washington | Valley Record
02nd May 2021
- Video highlights longterm Washington study examining the complicated relationship between wolves, prey and other predators | The Spokesman Review
25th Mar 2021
- Biden administration will reconsider northern spotted owl forest protection rollbacks | OPB
10th Mar 2021
- How to Count a Wolf | bioGraphic
26th Feb 2021
- Judge dismisses claims against WDFW | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife
25th Jul 2020
- Search finds no wolves in South Cascades | Livestock | capitalpress.com
09th Jul 2020
- Listen to the latest episode of The Wild with Chris Morgan! The Wild: The Wolf Ranger | KUOW-NPR
16th Jun 2020
- Conservation groups ask Washington state to kill fewer wolves | The Columbian
13th May 2020
- One Washington ranch, 26 protected gray wolves killed | Los Angeles Times
18th Dec 2019
- Inslee asks Washington wildlife agency to kill fewer wolves, pursue new management methods | The Spokesman-Review
02nd Oct 2019
- Washington wolf issues are heated, but experts urge perspective | The Spokesman-Review
30th Aug 2019
- Fearing violence, officials cancel public meetings on managing Washington wolf packs | The Seattle Times
30th Aug 2019
- WDFW kills 3 more wolves in OPT pack | Livestock | capitalpress.com
14th Aug 2019
- Lawmaker Wants Review of Wolf Recovery Efforts | Northwest Regional News | chronline.com
10th Jun 2019
- Wolf update includes new pack in Walla Walla area | Walla Walla County | union-bulletin.com
09th May 2019
- Northwest wolves could lose federal protection | Crosscut
07th May 2019
- Predicting Cattle Depredation “Hotspots” By Gray Wolves On Public Lands | Science Trends
01st May 2019
Journal Articles
Petracca LS, Converse SJ, Maletzke BT, Gardner B. Forecasting dynamics of a recolonizing wolf population under different management strategies. Animal Conservation. 2026 Fe
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT
Species recovery can be influenced by a wide variety of factors, such that predicting the spatiotemporal dynamics of recovering species can be exceedingly difficult. These predictions, however, are valuable for decision makers tasked with managing species and determining their legal status. We applied a spatially explicit projection model to estimate population growth and viability of gray wolves (Canis lupus) from 2021 to 2070 in the state of Washington, USA, where wolves have been naturally recolonizing since the establishment of the first resident pack in 2008. Using this model, we predicted the effects of 12 scenarios relating to management actions (e.g., lethal removals by the state agency, translocation, recreational harvest) and system uncertainties (e.g., immigration from out of state, disease) on the probability of meeting Washington’s wolf recovery goals, the probability of extinction, and other metrics related to population status. Population recovery was defined under Washington’s Wolf Conservation and Management Plan as four breeding pairs in each of three recovery regions and three additional breeding pairs anywhere in the state. The baseline and two translocation scenarios indicated a high (> 90%) probability of wolf recovery in Washington by 2070, but scenarios related to harvest mortality (removal of 5% of the population every 6 months), increased lethal removals (removal of 8.53% of the population across the state each year), and cessation of immigration from out of state resulted in probabilities of < 0.20 (0.01, 0.04, and 0.17, respectively) of meeting recovery goals by 2070. Only two scenarios of 12 (increased harvest and lethal removals scenarios) resulted in a geometric mean of population growth ≤ 1, indicating long-term population stability or growth for most scenarios. Our results suggest that wolves will continue to recolonize Washington and that recovery goals are likely to be met so long as harvest and lethal removals are not at unsustainable levels and adjacent populations support immigration into Washington.
Prey partitioning between sympatric wild carnivores revealed by DNA metabarcoding: a case study on wolf (Canis lupus) and coyote (Canis latrans) in northeastern Washington. Shi Y, Hoareau Y, Reese EM, Wasser SK. Conservation Genetics. 2021 Apr
Development of a mitochondrial DNA marker that distinguishes domestic dogs from Washington state gray wolves. Reese EM, Winters M, Booth RK, Wasser SK. Conservation Genetics Resources. 2020 Feb
Habitat use of sympatric prey suggests divergent anti-predator responses to recolonizing gray wolves. Dellinger JA, Shores CR, Craig A, Heithaus MR, Ripple WJ, Wirsing AJ. Oecologia. 2019 Feb
Natural re-colonization and admixture of wolves (Canis lupus) in the US Pacific Northwest: challenges for the protection and management of rare and endangered taxa. Hendricks SA, Schweizer RM, Harrigan RJ, Pollinger JP, Paquet PC, Darimont CT, Adams JR, Waits LP, Hohenlohe PA, Wayne RK. Heredity. 2019 Feb
Impacts of recolonizing gray wolves (Canis lupus) on survival and mortality in two sympatric ungulates
J.A. Dellinger,*a C.R. Shores,a M. Marsh,b M.R. Heithaus,c W.J. Ripple,d A.J. Wirsinga; Journal of Zoology, 2018 – NRC Research Press
Impacts of Re-colonizing Gray Wolves on Mule Deer and White-tailed Deer in North-Central Washington (Doctoral dissertation). Dellinger, J., 2018.
BEAUTY OR THE BEAST: UNDERSTANDING ATTITUDES ABOUT WOLVES IN WASHINGTON STATE AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR WOLF MANAGEMENT. Wiley, P., 2018.
Cattle depredation risk by gray wolves on grazing allotments in Washington. Hanley ZL, Cooley HS, Maletzke BT, Wielgus RB. Global ecology and conservation. 2018 Oct
Forecasting cattle depredation risk by recolonizing gray wolves
ZL Hanley, HS Cooley, BT Maletzke, RB Wielgus – Wildlife Biology, 2018 – BioOne
Nutrition and Habitat‐Use Models for Elk Management in Western Oregon and Washington. Rowland MM, Wisdom MJ, Nielson RM, Cook JG, Cook RC, Johnson BK, Coe PK, Hafer JM, Naylor BJ, Vales DJ, Anthony RG. Wildlife Monographs. 2018 Nov
A meta‐population model to predict occurrence and recovery of wolves. The Journal of Maletzke BT, Wielgus 2016
Can GPS Clusters Predict Calving of moose in Northeastern Washington?. Ramirez, R., 2016.
Ethics and Wolf Management: Attitudes Toward and Tolerance of Wolves in Washington State. SJSU Scholarworks Callahan, J., 2012.
Wolves, trophic cascades, and rivers in the Olympic National Park, USA. Beschta RL, Ripple WJ. Ecohydrology: Ecosystems, Land and Water Process Interactions, Ecohydrogeomorphology. 2008
Landscape permeability for large carnivores in Washington: a geographic information system weighted-distance and least-cost corridor assessment. Singleton PH, Gaines WL, Lehmkuhl JF. Res. Pap. PNW-RP-549. Portland, OR: US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station
Understory patch dynamics and ungulate herbivory in old-growth forests of Olympic National Park, Washington. Schreiner EG, Krueger KA, Houston DB, Happe PJ. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 1996 Feb
Response of coyotes and gray wolves to simulated howling in north-central Washington. Neale, G.K., Naney, R.M. and Gaines, W.L., 1995