This update provides an overview of gray wolf conservation and management activities in Washington during May 2025.
Program updates and coordination
- WDFW is coordinating statewide coverage of contracted range riders. Program updates can be found in WDFW’s website.
- The Washington State Legislature recently provided funding to WDFW and the Department of Agriculture to explore a “Pay for Presence” approach to defray costs incurred by livestock producers who ranch in areas with wolves. A report on this concept is due to the legislature by December 2025.
WDFW encourages anyone who might have relevant information on poaching to report it confidentially by calling WDFW's poaching hotline, 877-933-9847, or by texting a tip to 847411.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is offering a reward in a second case of a wolf being killed illegally in Klickitat County. More information is included in a press release on the incident. USFWS is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest, a criminal conviction, or civil penalty assessment in this case. Non-profit organizations such as Conservation Northwest, Washington Wildlife First, and Center for Biological Diversity are offering an additional $30,000 ($ 10,000 from each of these three organizations) in reward money.
The first case of a wolf being killed illegally in Klickitat County happened in October 2024. There is also a reward offered in that case. You can read more about that in this press release.
Gray wolves are listed as endangered under state law throughout Washington. In the western two-thirds of the state, they are also listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. Under state law, the illegal killing of a wolf or other endangered fish, or wildlife species is a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000.
- WDFW continues to support the Conflict on Working lands Conservation Innovation Grant (CoW-CIG) research team’s evaluation of the effectiveness of range riding at reducing conflicts between livestock and carnivores. The Conservation on Working Lands Conservation Innovation Grant (CoW-CIG) is a collaborative team consisting of livestock producers, Western Landowners Alliance, Heart of the Rockies, Defenders of Wildlife, Wildlife Services, and other state and federal wildlife agencies, and Utah, Colorado, and Montana state universities. The team is tasked with evaluating the effectiveness of several nonlethal tools at reducing conflict between livestock, wolves, and grizzly bears.
Outreach and education
WDFW staff in southeast Washington and a Statewide Wolf biologist met with the Garfield County Sheriff and his staff on May 6 to discuss wolf history, investigation protocols, and areas where both entities can assist each other in the future.
WDFW biologists presented on wolf update at the Okanogan Farm Bureau meeting on May 19.
On May 20 WDFW biologists spent the day teaching students about predators and prey during the Dayton/Waitsburg/Starbuck/Touchet Sixth Grade Camp at Camp Wooten Environmental Learning Center. Students learned about adaptive differences between herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores as well as what species are found in the Tucannon Wildlife Area. Using an interactive game, students were able to explore relationships between predators and prey.
Current population status and proactive conflict mitigation
The year-end minimum population count for 2024 was at least 230 known wolves in 43 known packs including at least 18 successful breeding pairs. Annual wolf population surveys are conducted in the winter because wolf populations experience the least amount of natural fluctuation during this time. Counting the population at the end of each year allows for comparable year-to-year trends at a time of year when the wolf population is most stable. A link to the 2024 Annual Wolf report can be found in WDFW’s website (PDF). The year-end minimum population count for 2025 will be released in April 2026.
Reports of remote camera images or videos, wolf tracks, or sightings from the public are extremely helpful in locating previously undocumented wolf activity and potential new packs on the landscape. Please take photos of wolves or wolf sign (learn how to differentiate between wolves and coyotes; use some way to measure the size of a track) and upload them to the wolf observation reporting page.
Definitions: A “pack” is defined as two or more wolves traveling together in winter, and a “breeding pair” is defined as at least one adult male and one adult female wolf that raised at least two pups that survived until December 31. In any given year, the number of packs will always be greater than or equal to the number of breeding pairs. The known territories and more information for each pack can be viewed by clicking the pack name.
Beaver Creek pack
No activity to report.
Butte Creek pack
No activity to report.
Carpenter Ridge pack
No activity to report.
Chewuch pack
No activity to report.
Chopaka pack
No activity to report.
Columbia pack
WDFW biologists conducted monitoring activities and attempted to capture and collar wolves in this pack territory, however they were unsuccessful.
Couse pack
WDFW biologists conducted monitoring activities in this pack territory.
Diobsud Creek territory
No activity to report.
Dirty Shirt pack
WDFW biologists conducted monitoring activities in this pack territory.
Dominion pack
No activity to report.
Five Sisters pack
No activity to report.
Goodman Meadows pack
No activity to report.
Grouse Flats pack
No activity to report.
Huckleberry pack
WDFW biologists conducted monitoring activities and attempted to capture and collar wolves in this pack territory, however they were unsuccessful.
Leadpoint pack
No activity to report.
Lookout pack
No activity to report.
Loup Loup pack
No activity to report.
Maverick pack
WDFW biologists conducted monitoring activities in this pack territory.
Mt. Spokane pack
No activity to report.
Naneum pack
WDFW biologists conducted monitoring activities in this pack territory.
Napeequa pack
WDFW biologists conducted monitoring activities and attempted to capture and collar wolves in this pack territory, however they were unsuccessful.
Navarre pack
WDFW biologists conducted monitoring activities in this pack territory.
Onion Creek pack
WDFW biologists conducted monitoring activities in this pack territory.
Reed pack
No activity to report.
Ruby pack
No activity to report.
Scatter pack
No activity to report.
Shady Pass pack
WDFW biologists conducted monitoring activities in this pack territory.
Sherman pack
WDFW biologists conducted monitoring activities in this pack territory. Four depredation events were investigated from this pack territory in May, including one adult male wolf was killed while reportedly chasing cattle.
Skookum pack
No activity to report.
Stranger Pack
No activity to report.
Sullivan Creek pack
No activity to report.
Teanaway Pack
WDFW biologists conducted monitoring activities in this pack territory.
Togo Pack
No activity to report.
Touchet pack
No activity to report.
Tucannon Pack
WDFW biologists conducted monitoring activities in this pack territory.
Wedge pack
No activity to report.
Other Monitoring Activities Statewide:
Note: The Dollar Mountain, Frosty, Nason, Nc’icn, Keller Ridge, Strawberry, Whitestone, and Wilmont pack territories are within Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (CTCR) lands and are managed under tribal authority. Information regarding these packs is proprietary and reported at the discretion of the CTCR.
Mortalities
- One adult male wolf was killed while reportedly chasing cattle in May in Ferry County of northeast Washington. There have been four wolf mortalities documented in 2025 so far.
Depredation activity
In general, about 80% of known wolf packs in Washington have not been involved in any documented livestock depredation in any given year. WDFW staff documented four depredation events by wolves on livestock in May 2025. The average number of depredation events for the month of May is 2.4 based on depredation records from 2020-2024.
Please report any suspected livestock depredations or the death or harassment of wolves to the WDFW Enforcement Hotline at 1-877-933-9847 or WILDCOMM Communications Center at 360-902-2936 Option 1.
Below is a summary of packs with documented depredation activity within the past ten months (some packs have depredation history prior to the current ten-month window; this timeframe is considered based on guidance from the wolf-livestock interaction protocol (PDF)).
| Pack | Depredation date | Depredation type | Proactive non-lethals | Ten-month window | Agency lethal removal actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia | 8/06/24 | Confirmed injury of 1 calf | Yes | 6/6/25 | |
| 9/11/24 | Probable injury of 1 calf | Yes | 7/11/25 | ||
| 9/16/24 | Confirmed mortality of 1 calf | Yes | 7/16/25 | ||
| 10/27/24 | Confirmed injury of 1 calf | Yes | 8/27/25 | ||
| 10/27/24 | Confirmed injury of 1 calf | Yes | 8/27/25 | ||
| 10/27/24 | Confirmed injury of 1 calf | Yes | 8/27/25 | ||
| 11/06/24 | Probable injury of 1 calf | Yes | 9/6/25 | ||
| 11/06/24 | Probable injury of 1 calf | Yes | 9/6/25 | ||
| 11/06/24 | Probable injury of 1 calf | Yes | 9/6/25 | ||
| 11/06/24 | Probable injury of 1 calf | Yes | 9/6/25 | ||
| 11/06/24 | Probable injury of 1 calf | Yes | 9/6/25 | ||
| 12/29/24 | Confirmed mortality of 1 calf | Yes | 10/28/25 | Two wolves (an adult male and a yearling female) were lethally removed by WDFW on Jan. 13, 2025. Lethal removal authorization is expired with this. | |
| Couse | 9/19/24 | Confirmed injury of 1 calf | Yes | 7/19/25 | Agency Removal authorized with an expiration date of Oct. 8 – no removal as of Oct. 7, 2024. |
| 11/12/24 | Probable injury of 1 calf | Yes | 9/12/25 | ||
| Dominion | 8/01/24 | Confirmed mortality of 1 calf and injury of 2 calves | Yes | 6/1/25 | |
| 8/02/24 | Confirmed injury of 2 calves | Yes | 6/2/25 | ||
| 8/04/24 | Confirmed mortality of 1 calf | Yes | 6/4/25 | ||
| 8/06/24 | Confirmed injury of 3 calves | Yes | 6/6/25 | On 08/13, WDFW lethally removed an adult male wolf from the Dominion pack territory. With the removal of this wolf, the lethal removal authorization expired. | |
| Grouse Flats | 9/11/24 | Confirmed mortality of 1 calf | Yes | 7/11/25 | |
| Leadpoint | 8/02/24 | Probable injury of 1 cow | Yes | 6/2/25 | One wolf was killed on 07/26 (Investigation ongoing). On 08/12, WDFW Director authorized lethal removal of up to two adult wolves from this pack. As of 08/19, WDFW had not removed a wolf despite daily and continued efforts utilizing multiple different methods and the authorization expired on that day. |
| Onion Creek | 8/10/24 | Confirmed mortality of 1 calf | Yes | 6/10/25 | |
| 8/15/24 | Confirmed mortality of 1 calf | Yes | 6/15/25 | ||
| 9/09/24 | Confirmed mortality of 1 calf | Yes | 7/9/25 | WDFW Director authorized lethal removal of up to two adult wolves from this pack. On 09/19, WDFW removed two wolves (an adult male and a yearling female) and the authorization expired. | |
| 9/30/24 | Confirmed mortality of 1 calf | Yes | 7/30/25 | On 10/2, WDFW Director re-authorized lethal removal of one adult wolf from this pack and later on that day, WDFW lethally removed one adult female, and the re-authorization expired. | |
| Sherman | 5/15/25 | Confirmed injury of 1 calf | Yes | 3/15/26 | One adult male wolf was killed while reportedly chasing cattle on 05/15/25. Lethal removal was not authorized by WDFW Director on 05/22. |
| 5/15/25 | Confirmed injury of 2 calves | Yes | 3/15/26 | ||
| 5/15/25 | Confirmed mortality of 1 calf | Yes | 3/15/26 | ||
| 5/26/25 | Confirmed injury of 1 calf | Yes | 3/26/26 | Lethal removal was not authorized by WDFW Director on 05/30. | |
| Sullivan Creek | 8/10/24 | Confirmed mortality of 1 calf | Yes | 6/10/25 | |
| 8/12/24 | Confirmed injury of 3 calves | Yes | 6/12/25 | ||
| Unknown | 8/22/24 | Confirmed mortality of 1 calf | No | 6/22/25 | |
| Unknown (Overlapped area for Couse and Tucannon packs) | 10/13/24 | Probable injury of 1 calf | Yes | 8/13/25 |
Packs referenced in this update
- Beaver Creek ,
- Butte Creek ,
- Carpenter Ridge ,
- Chewuch ,
- Chopaka ,
- Columbia ,
- Couse ,
- Diobsud Creek ,
- Dirty Shirt ,
- Dollar Mountain ,
- Dominion ,
- Five Sisters ,
- Frosty ,
- Goodman Meadows ,
- Grouse Flats ,
- Huckleberry ,
- Keller Ridge ,
- Leadpoint ,
- Lookout ,
- Loup Loup ,
- Maverick ,
- Mt. Spokane ,
- Naneum ,
- Napeequa ,
- Nason Basin ,
- Navarre ,
- Nc'icn ,
- Onion Creek ,
- Reed ,
- Ruby Creek ,
- Scatter ,
- Shady Pass ,
- Sherman ,
- Skookum ,
- Stranger ,
- Strawberry ,
- Sullivan Creek ,
- Teanaway ,
- Togo ,
- Touchet ,
- Tucannon ,
- Wedge ,
- Whitestone ,
- Wilmont