Wolf numbers continue to grow in Washington state, but still no hunting as in Idaho

The number of wolves in Washington state rose strongly last year, according to an annual report from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife released Friday. The rate of increase was more than double what Oregon reported earlier in the week for its wolf population in 2020.

The gray wolf population in Washington state increased by 22% in the past year, raising the minimum number of wolves documented by state and tribal biologists to 178 in 29 packs -- up from 145 wolves and 26 packs at the end of 2019. A combination of in-migration from neighboring states and Canada plus births within existing packs probably accounted for the increase, biologists told the state Fish and Wildlife Commission during a briefing Friday.

"Washington wolf recovery continues to make solid progress," said WDFW Director Kelly Susewind. "For the first time the North Cascades wolf recovery area has met the local recovery objective -- four successful breeding pairs -- during 2020."