This bill is very similar to another bill in the WA legislature, H.B. 2107/S.B. 5960.
Bill Description:
This bill would require the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to amend the existing wolf conservation and management plan by June 2017 to address the wolf recovery rate and uneven distribution that has occurred since the initial adoption of the plan in 2011.[teaserbreak]
These amendments must include, at a minimum:
• The identification of a management result that allows recovery to be deemed successful; and
• A change in the metric for identifying successful wolf recovery that is based on the number of wolf packs in the state and not on the number of breeding pairs.
Background:
This bill has the potential to significantly weaken endangered species protections in Washington. Implementing wolf protection based on the number of breeding pairs is simply good science — wolf survival is centered around pack structure, and packs fall apart without a breeding pair. Breeding pairs need to be protected and incorporated into a management plan in order for that plan to successfully foster long-term recovery.
We can’t play games like this with the state’s most vulnerable species. For as long as gray wolves are listed as threatened or endangered state-wide, they must enjoy full and scientifically-sound protections until they meet the criteria to be considered recovered.
Take Action:
Washington residents, contact your state representative and senator and urge them to oppose this legislation.
Read the full text and follow its progress here for the House bill and here for the Senate bill.