The Washington State Fish and Wildlife Commission is set to decide during a July 19 meeting whether to lower the gray wolf’s status under the state’s Endangered Species Act.
The wolf is currently listed as “endangered,” but the Department of Fish and Wildlife recommends to downlist the species to “sensitive.” Environmentalists argue downlisting the gray wolf would lead to inadequate protection, but state officials say wolf numbers have recovered.
“A downlisting recommendation has nothing to do with a wolf’s value,” said Julia Smith, Fish and Wildlife’s endangered species recovery manager at a meeting. “It has everything to do with their legal and biological status.”
If the commission votes to downlist the species, wolves in the western two-thirds of the state would remain protected as a federal endangered species.
