Washington's Rich Wildlife Heritage
K. McAllister
Washington is home to a large variety of fish and wildlife species—a natural heritage important to the long-term health and economic security of every resident of the state. However, changes to the landscape and native habitat, primarily as a result of human activity, have put many of these species at risk. There is a great need to be proactive, to protect what the state already has, and to keep common species common before they become endangered or at risk.
A New Approach to Planning
Although the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is driven by planning at many different levels, the wildlife action plan provided an opportunity for the Department to undertake an agency-wide effort to reassess wildlife conservation priorities and set a new direction for the future. Specifically, the action plan process provided the impetus for a thorough reevaluation of priorities for species and habitat conservation, a transition from statewide to ecoregional conservation, acceleration of the evolution from species management (fine filter) to a more ecosystems-based management approach (coarse filter), and expanding the emphasis on biodiversity conservation, at the statewide and ecoregional scales.
Primary Challenges to Washington's Fish & Wildlife
Habitat loss through conversion, fragmentation and degradation: habitat conversion, fragmentation and degradation together pose the most serious statewide threat to Washington’s native fish and wildlife resources.
Invasive alien species: everywhere in the state, aggressive non-native plants and animals are displacing native species, profoundly altering natural systems and affecting the state’s economy and human health.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
