Toward a Wildlife Future for Washington State: Washington Wildlife Leaders Forum Report

The impetus for the Forum grew from a recognition that an increasing number of wildlife professionals, policy makers, and citizens in Washington State and throughout the United States are reviewing missions and available resources of state agencies responsible for fish, wildlife, and habitat management. The concern sparking these reviews is that the state wildlife agencies’ historical roles of managing game and commercial species, and in recent decades the additional task of restoring endangered species, are not sufficient to conserve the full array of fish and wildlife species. This discussion is timely because of the growing scientific consensus that the totality of fish, wildlife and habitat provides ecological benefits that must be preserved to ensure healthy, economically viable and sustainable human communities. The fundamental question of the Forum was: How can we better protect the essential role that wildlife plays in Washingtonians’ quality of life?

The Forum focused discussions and suggestions on the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) because it is the state’s primary public agency responsible for wildlife. However, the participants also agreed that stewarding biodiversity requires multiple government agencies and broad public involvement. Moving forward to build stronger public-private conservation partnerships and improve coordination among agencies will become increasingly important as the role of biodiversity in improving and protecting our quality of life becomes more widely recognized. As a first step toward a healthier future, it is inevitable that the scope of work of state wildlife agencies like WDFW must expand, and their internal cultures must fully embrace building stronger partnerships with other agencies and collaborators in academia, businesses, and conservation organizations.

The Forum organizers recognized that any changes at WDFW must not diminish their ability to fully and effectively manage fish and wildlife for hunting, fishing and commercial purposes. Forum participants recognized the difficult context of the work, including: funding challenges facing Washington State; the increasing number of imperiled species in the state, increasing development and loss of wildlife habitat; climate change; uncertain federal funding; the desire to conserve all species and habitat types; the declining number of hunters and license revenue for managing hunted species; and the demographics contributing to a growing number of citizens who are disconnected from nature. This challenging context highlights that conserving “all species, for all constituents” to build a sustainable Washington with a high quality of life will require innovative solutions, bold action, and partnerships.