WA Fish and Wildlife Commission issues cougar, wolf decisions
By Dan Thesman on Tuesday, July 23rd, 2024 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
OLYMPIA – The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission met virtually on Friday and issued decisions on gray wolves and cougars.
The Commission decided against the staff recommendation to reclassify gray wolves as a protective sensitive species in Washington. As such, great wolves remain listed as state endangered in Washington. This vote does not impact the federal classification of gray wolves, which remain federally listed as endangered in the western two-thirds of Washington and federally de-listed in the eastern third. WDFW will revisit the state conservation status on wolves as part of a future periodic status review process, or sooner if the recovery objectives of the state’s Wolf Conservation and Management Plan are met within five years.
Next, the Commission approved changes to cougar hunting seasons. The new rule establishes the Washington cougar hunting season from Sept. 1 to March 31, sets a cap of 13 percent for each population management unit using a specific statewide density, and includes all known human-caused cougar mortalities to determine when to close a PMU during the season. The Commission incorporated an amendment in the cougar hunting rule to clarify that all known human-caused cougar mortalities contributing to the 13 percent cap will be counted between April 1 of the current year and March 31 of the subsequent year.
Additionally, the Commission decided that, in PMUs that reach the 13 percent cap prior to the cougar hunting season starting on Sept. 1, the cap would be increased to 20 percent of the population to provide hunting opportunity in those PMUs. The Commission also directed staff to initiate rule making for the 2025-25 cougar hunting season.
