BELLINGHAM — Washington is known for its nature, but how do its wildlife conservation efforts compare to other states?
A new study published by SmileHub, a website that helps people find charities according to category and location, ranks each state by their wildlife protection measures.
According to SmileHub, Washington is one of the best states in the country at protecting wildlife. The Evergreen State took ninth place in the rankings, just behind New Hampshire and just ahead of Minnesota.
Despite coming in at No. 9, Washington wasn’t the highest-ranked state in the Pacific Northwest — that would be Oregon, which took the No. 4 spot. The top ten was heavy on western states. Wyoming and Colorado took second and third places, while California and Alaska took fifth and sixth.
Here’s the entire top 10:
- 1. Vermont
- 2. Wyoming
- 3. Colorado
- 4. Oregon
- 5. California
- 6. Alaska
- 7. Maine
- 8. New Hampshire
- 9. Washington
- 10.Minnesota
How states were ranked on wildlife
The rankings were compiled using 17 metrics across three categories: government and community support, legal protections and ecosystem status.
Each state’s government and community support score was determined by factors including number of animal and environmental protection charities per capita, the number of state conservation programs and state wildlife grants per capita. The legal protections category also used state wildlife grants as a factor, along with share of state land used for parks and wildlife, endangered species legislation and wildlife corridor legislation. The final category was determined by various indexes measuring different environmental threats.
Data was taken from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, among other sources.
Where does WA rank high on wildlife protection?
Washington earned the eighth-highest score of any state in the legal protections category, driven by its fifth place ranking for the share of state land dedicated to parks and wildlife protection. It also ranked No. 12 in the community and government support category, with the ninth-most animal charities per capita.
According to Andrea Wolf, communications director at Conservation Northwest, the recovery of the Washington’s wolf population is one example of how the community and state government have worked together on wildlife conservation efforts.
“Washington’s wolf conservation efforts have been a success, with the state’s wolf population steadily growing due to science-based management and collaboration between wildlife officials, tribes, conservationists and ranchers,” Wolf said in an interview. “Non-lethal conflict mitigation strategies, such as range riders and deterrents, have helped reduce livestock predation, easing tensions between wolves and rural communities. Legal protections and a structured recovery plan have supported the species’ resurgence, while public education has fostered coexistence”
While it received high marks for local and statewide conservation efforts, Washington’s overall ranking was dragged down by average marks in the ecosystem status category, largely due to the area’s vulnerability to environmental threats like over-exploitation and land-use change.
WA conservation efforts
The state government’s wildlife protection efforts are led by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. WDFW is currently in the process of updating its State Wildlife Action Plan, which was created in 2005 and updated in 2015. Nonprofits and local groups also factor into the equation, advocating for policy changes and implementing their own programs to protect wildlife.
According to Wolf, some of Washington’s most notable wildlife conservation achievements have involved restoring an endangered species that used to live in the state to its native habitat. Wolf pointed to two examples that stood out in particular, grizzly bears in the North Cascades and fishers on the Olympic Peninsula.
“Grizzly bear restoration in the North Cascades is a major win for wildlife, as it reintroduces a keystone species that helps maintain ecosystem balance,” Wolf said. “Grizzlies regulate prey populations, disperse seeds, and contribute to overall biodiversity. Their return strengthens predator-prey dynamics, benefiting everything from plants to smaller carnivores.”
Currently, officials are working to introduce a few grizzly bears, which were once common in the area but haven’t been seen since 1996, each year until an initial population of 25 is established.
The reintroduction of fishers, which started in 2008, involved a partnership between DFW, the National Park Service, Conservation Northwest and the Calgary Zoo. Their efforts began on the Olympic Peninsula and expanded to the Cascade Mountains over the late 2010s and early 2020s.
“As part of the weasel family, fishers play a key role in controlling small mammal populations, helping maintain ecological balance. Their return benefits forest ecosystems by contributing to predator-prey dynamics and supporting biodiversity. This effort, led by wildlife agencies and conservation groups, demonstrates the effectiveness of species restoration in strengthening healthy, functioning habitats,” Wolf said.
However, there’s still room for improvement, according to Wolf. In particular, Wolf said that the state can improve its conservation efforts by adding wildlife crossings over roads and highways.
“While we celebrate these hard-fought wins for wildlife, we have so much work still to do. We are putting a large effort into improving habitat connectivity and protecting wildlife corridors around the state,” Wolf said. “The crown jewel of wildlife crossings is on I-90 near Snoqualmie, and that is proving to be a resounding success. The other big barrier in Washington is I-5, and along with our partners, we are working hard to get more wildlife crossings built there too.”
