The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) enters into damage prevention cooperative agreements with landowners to proactively prevent, minimize, or correct damage caused by wildlife to crops or livestock.
These agreements provide:
- State cost sharing of proactive preventative methods, including specialized fencing, guard dogs, range riders, hazing equipment, and sanitation (carcass removal, etc.).
- Wolf location information where available through radio-collared wolf monitoring.
- Permits to kill wolves caught in the act of attacking livestock. These permits can be provided to livestock producers only where WDFW is the lead authority for wolf management (currently the eastern one-third of Washington), consistent with the Washington Wolf Conservation and Management Plan.
- Payment for livestock losses other than those designated confirmed or probable kills or injuries by wolves
Agreements are tailored to individual producer situations, including availability of alternative grazing sites to avoid core wolf activity centers (pup-rearing dens and rendezvous sites) and WDFW radio-collared wolf monitoring information.
Landowners agree to share information regarding wolf activity, livestock behavior, and preventative actions in place. They also allow WDFW staff members access to lands owned or controlled for livestock production.
Livestock producers interested in damage prevention cooperative agreements can contact their local WDFW wildlife conflict specialist, nearest regional office, or the Wildlife Program at 360-902-2515 or wildthing@dfw.wa.gov.