WDFW Reports 2019 Wolf Population Revealed Growth

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife shared that the annual wolf report for 2019 revealed the minimum count of wolves continued to grow for the 11th year.

WDFW counted 108 wolves in 21 packs and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation reported 37 in five packs. The sum total of both counts revealed an 11% increase from 2018.

"Not as big of an increase as it has been in the last couple of years, it generally averages about a 28% increase," said Staci Lehman, communications manager. "So we are seeing in some areas we're hitting saturation levels. At this point we're still seeing growth, it is slowing down."

The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation is a partner for wolf management, however the counts were totaled separately. The total count is considered the minimum number, because of the difficulty to track every wolf in the state.