See below for rules adopted in 2023 by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission or the Director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The public comment period has ended for all rules listed below.
See the Rule-making glossary for more information about the terms used here.
Rule Making Reference# P2023-09
This rule amendment proposal, if adopted, reclassifies the western gray squirrel from threatened to endangered.Rule Making Reference# P2023-13
The department is considering rule changes to WAC 220-412-090 which related to multi-season tags.Rule Making Reference# P2023-01
The purpose of the proposal is to amend rules to allow for the use of electronic recreational hunting and fishing licenses through the department’s authorized mobile application and introduce electronic harvest reporting for recreational fishers.Rule Making Reference# P2023-10
The proposed changes to regulations include both non-administrative and administrative amendments.
Rule Making Reference# P2023-11
The purpose of the proposal is to change the permanent rules for the Lake Roosevelt white sturgeon fishery.Rule Making Reference# P2023-12
The purpose of this rule is to adjust the timing of participant selection and the timing for in-hand gear requirements to allow fishers sufficient time to secure gear before the commercial season begins. In addition, this rule will clarify conditions pertaining to the successful fisher applicants.Rule Making Reference# P2023-04
The purpose of this rulemaking is to regulate the commercial salmon fisheries in Puget Sound. These rules are part of a comprehensive suite of rulemaking packages to implement the new 2023-2024 salmon seasons for Washington State developed through the broader North of Falcon process pursuant to the Fish and Wildlife Commission’s North of Falcon Policy C-3608 for 2019-2023 and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), RCW 34.05.Rule Making Reference# P2023-05
The purpose of this rulemaking is to regulate the recreational salmon fisheries statewide. These rules are part of a comprehensive suite of rulemaking packages to implement the new 2023-2024 salmon seasons for Washington State developed through the broader North of Falcon process pursuant to the Fish and Wildlife Commission’s North of Falcon Policy C-3608 for 2019-2023 and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), RCW 34.05.Rule Making Reference# P2023-03
The purpose of this rulemaking is to regulate the commercial salmon fisheries in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor. These rules are part of a comprehensive suite of rulemaking packages to implement the new 2023-2024 salmon seasons for Washington State, developed through the broader North of Falcon process pursuant to the Fish and Wildlife Commission’s North of Falcon Policy C-3608 for 2019-2023 and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), RCW 34.05.Rule Making Reference# P2023-06
Rule amendments are necessary to align Chapter 220-660 WAC with RCW 77.55.181. Amendments to RCW 77.55.181 were passed into law as Substitute Senate Bill 5381 (Laws of 2021, c. 289) during the 2021 legislative session.Rule Making Reference# P2023-02
This rule amendment reclassifies the American white pelican within WAC 220-200-100 “Wildlife classified as protected shall not be hunted or fished” from threatened to sensitive.Rule Making Reference# P2022-18
The Department proposed several rule changes for annual hunting regulations.Rule Making Reference# P2022-10
This rulemaking is to simplify the process of applying for program modifications and accessibility permits in part by specifying the criteria for the most common special use permits (WAC 220-200-200 through WAC 220-200-230).Rule Making Reference# P2022-19
The department is considering amending WAC 220-353-050 to add certain bottomfish (also known as “groundfish”) to the list of commercially taken species that are permitted to be possessed, transported through the waters of the state, and landed in the dressed condition.Rule Making Reference# P2022-17
The purpose of this rule change is to amend a rule affecting the coastal recreational bottomfish fishery so that it is consistent with regulations adopted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council.Rule Making Reference# P2022-14
The department is considering rulemaking to amend commercial Eulachon fishing rules- WAC 220-358-060 Smelt.Rule Making Reference# P2022-15
This revision to the fishing guide logbook rule will improve enforceability and compliance of the rule.Rule Making Reference# P2022-16
Recreational clam and oyster seasons are adjusted based on recent clam and oyster population survey data, recreational harvest projections, and negotiations affecting intertidal Treaty and non-Treaty fisheries, along with public health considerations. Seasons will be opened or extended on some public beaches and closed or shortened on others. These amendments reflect openings and closures based on current data.Rule Making Reference# P2022-13
The Department adopted amendments reclassifying the Columbian white-tailed deer from endangered to threatened and listing the Cascade Red Fox as endangered.Rule Making Reference# P2021-11
The purpose of the proposed new section-- WAC 220-500-045 Domestic goats and sheep on WDFW-managed lands is to reduce risk of disease transmission to bighorn sheep via contact with domestic goats and sheep on wildlife areas managed by the department.