State Wildlife Action Plan survey available
In August 2024, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) hosted a public webinar to discuss the update to the State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP). This public meeting kicked off a year-long public engagement process to revise and update Washington’s SWAP. In the meeting, WDFW shared an update on the timeline for the 2025 SWAP revision and opportunities for public participation during the year-long process. This was the first of three public meetings for the public to participate and offer insights on the revision.
WDFW staff presented general information on the SWAP, its purpose in conservation in Washington and the U.S., and an overview of the revision. The public can now participate in a scoping survey that will be open until Nov. 15, 2024. You may also leave a general comment at (855) 925–2801 using project code 10616. General comments will be incorporated into our public process.
All members of the public are welcome to participate and voice their unique perspectives.
Frequently asked questions
We received many questions during the first public meeting on a variety of themes, such as information on the SWAP revision process and how to participate, questions related to the list of Species of Greatest Conservation Need, collaboration with partners, and more. Below you will find some of the most frequently asked questions from the public meeting, grouped by topic.
General information
Who can I reach out to with questions/concerns about the SWAP revision process?
Please share all questions and comments to swap2025@publicinput.com. Take the surveys when they are available. Both are good opportunities to share information WDFW can consider in the revision.
What is being done to increase visibility for meetings and comment periods?
WDFW provides a news release for each opportunity, shares the meetings on our events webpage, posts the opportunities on the SWAP webpage banner, and is promoting opportunities through a network of WDFW liaisons and partner groups who work across the state to share information. If you are interested in receiving updates about meetings and surveys, you may subscribe at swap2025@publicinput.com.
How do I find info on the ecoregions of Washington? How many are there?
There are nine ecoregions in Washington. Ecoregions are large landscapes where land and water systems are similar. You can learn more about each ecoregion and WDFWs work in those ecoregions on WDFW’s biodiversity webpage.
Is there a contact list to be informed about meetings and other ways to be involved?
People can subscribe for updates at swap2025@publicinput.com.
Do you have more information I can look at to learn more?
The following are great resources to explore to learn more.
Restoring Washington’s Biodiversity 2023 Legislative Report
State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP)
List of Species of Greatest Conservation Need from 2015 SWAP
Watch the SWAP revision presentation to the WDFW Commission on August 9, 2024 and/or watch the first public SWAP webinar recorded by TVW. A searchable transcript is available at the TVW link.
WDFW SWAP summer 2024 scoping survey
Collaboration with partners
Are you able to provide ongoing Best Available Science advice to municipal permitting agencies as the climate changes?
The SWAP will provide information on the relationships among climate change, species, and their habitats. The SWAP provides good information we can use to write Best Management Practices (BMPs) that we deliver through our Priority Habitats and Species program and the guidance we provide to project and community planners that they can use in their decision-making.
These regular SWAP updates allow WDFW and partners to get a solid foundation for conservation work. The SWAP is not a regulatory document, and the information in it does not automatically drive regulation under other laws. It is a source of best available science that others can use in laws and regulations requiring best available science, and in any conservation planning.
Is there a unified plan for birds that migrate across the states?
There are several regional and international bird conservation plans developed by conservation partners that WDFW participates in and/or references when defining conservation actions. There is an opportunity for the SWAP to look at various recommendations that are highlighted in those plans, consider what role Washington might have in those broader initiatives and share information from those plans in the SWAP.
Is there interface with conservation and other governments to share information regarding watersheds with urban growth?
Washington’s cities and counties have the greatest responsibilities for managing land use, including urban growth. WDFW’s biggest interface with city and county governments is through our Priority Habitats and Species (PHS) program, which has been around since early 1990s. Washington’s Growth Management Act authorizes cities and counties to plan for and regulate land use. WDFW’s PHS program is recognized in rules and guidance as one of the sources for best available science and management practices for fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas, which are a type of critical area.
There is a relationship between species and habitats of greatest conservation need, which we are working to make clearer for this SWAP update. We want to ensure the SWAP reflects what we know about these relationships, and how to take conservation action to protect and restore species and their ecosystems. Thus, we’ll also have an opportunity to update the data and recommendations within the PHS program, to make sure the technical assistance we provide to others reflects the up-to-date information we will have in the SWAP.
As part of our work, we provide technical assistance to cities and counties by sharing information and helping them understand their options for protecting wildlife and resources as part of their local codes, ordinances, and planning processes. In addition to this work with cities and counties governing land use, we share data and analyses on Washington’s species, habitats, and trends with tribal governments, federal agencies, and other conservation partners.
Do you work with Habitat Conservation Plans under the Endangered Species Act?
WDFW provides species and habitat information, technical guidance, and coordination with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and often the project proponents to improve Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) mitigation benefits for covered species. HCPs can support conservation actions when mitigation is aligned with needs of those species and the mitigation is well-placed to support population-level conservation.
How does WDFW work with lakeshore management programs (to protect fish and other animals that live in/near the lakes)?
One of the ways WDFW works with these programs is through city and county land use regulations and plans. We provide a lot of information related to mapping and identifying critical species or habitats that need to be protected, which can be incorporated in their planning efforts.
Other times, we provide information and connect cities and counties to other agencies that are more related to their management plans.
Also, WDFW has its own permitting authority governing work in or near water for the intent of protecting fish and wildlife.
Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN)
Is a candidate status a listed status?
“Candidate” means a species is being considered or evaluated for listing, but it is not a listed status. Under the federal Endangered Species Act, listed species are either threatened or endangered. Under state laws, listed species are either endangered, threatened, or sensitive. This SWAP is considering federal and state listed species and candidates. You can learn more about listing status by reading our blog Understanding Conservation Categories for Washington Wildlife: Endangered and Protected.
Are there instances where harvesting of a SGCN, or habitat destruction/degradation, has been limited or prohibited to better meet SWAP conservation goals? Could you provide an example or two?
Not directly. The SWAP is going to define species and habitat conservation needs and potential actions, and the SWAP could be used as a source of information to evaluate sustainable harvest.
Are SGCN pulled into the priority species and habitats (PHS) database?
SGCN are not automatically pulled into the PHS database. There is good communication between the SGCN list and Priority Habitats and Species program. We are working to improve those with this revision. Some SGCN threats or risks are not linked to land uses. We want to be cautious with what we recommend through PHS that could influence land use regulation.
Why are there some SGCN species in Washington that can be hunted?
We do have hunted, fished, and foraged species on the list. The reasons a species is an SGCN are variable, and not all of the SGCN are imperiled or at risk. Some are added because their habitat or their environment is threatened in some way. For example, they could be connected to an important habitat or be affected by connectivity or climate change. The SWAP conservation actions address the most important threats to that species’ population. If hunting, fishing, or foraging is not a threat to the species’ population, it could still be a SGCN. As we learn more about a species and its habitats through the conservation actions in the SWAP, we could reconsider if a species should be hunted, fished, or foraged.
Are you looking at using drones to look at some of the areas that are difficult to reach on foot or via vehicles? Also do you organize teams of volunteers to help evaluate areas?
We organize teams of volunteers to get conservation work done. Learn more about volunteer opportunities at WDFW: Volunteer opportunities.
Drones are used quite a bit in conservation work. Drones are hard to use for some wildlife surveys or monitoring, but we regularly use them for monitoring habitat, restoration work, habitat changes, and finding indicators of wildlife on the landscape. Since we are a government agency, we need to have all the certifications, follow Federal Aviation Administration rules about airspace, and post public notices so people understand where and how we specifically intend to use drones.
How does the SWAP update plan to address climate change?
There are lots of options. Last time in 2015, we had a small chapter as well as a climate vulnerability analysis for some species and systems. This time, we want to weave climate change threats and actions into the plan by ecoregions, habitats, systems, and species. This could be specific actions for species adaptability or habitat improvements for resilience, both with the intention of improving sustainability of species, habitats, and systems.
Funding
Is this funded 100% through federal grant funds?
No, we rely on several funding sources. SWAP actions can be funded by any source that supports conservation work. Some examples are State and Tribal Wildlife Grants, Competitive State Wildlife Grants, Recreation and Conservation Office grants, other state and federal agency initiative funding like America the Beautiful, non-governmental or university funding, private funding programs like Doris Duke or Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, and of course the new state Biodiversity funding.
This is a new source of state funding helping us and conservation partners to implement the State Wildlife Action Plan. This funding was a monumental investment by Washington state’s Legislature. We also created a grant program to deliver $1.1 million to conservation partners.
The investments in the SWAP are not only monetary. Many people, conservation and agency partners, Tribes, and communities are investing their time, talents, and information to improve and deliver State Wildlife Action Plan conservation on the ground.
For more information on the SWAP update, email swap2025@publicinput.com.
