northwest Washington (www.coasttocascades.org). Partners include the St'at'imc Chiefs
Council, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (BC Chapter), Sierra Club BC, BC Nature,
Pemberton Wildlife Association, BC Spaces for Nature, AWARE, Whistler Naturalists and
Lillooet Naturalist Society. The Okanogan Nation Alliance, Squamish Nation and many local
governments and municipalities in British Columbia have also passed resolutions supporting
grizzly bear recovery. We're actively working to reduce grizzly bear mortality and protect habitat
through natural resource road closures in core grizzly habitat, public outreach and other tactics.
WildLinks Conference: Led by Conservation Northwest and the Cascadia Partner Forum,
WildLinks is our annual conference and science briefing that brings together researchers,
conservationists, land managers, agency officials, tribal and First Nations leaders and other
experts from Washington and British Columbia. The goal is to share ideas and better coordinate
keeping our region's wildlands and wildlife populations healthy and connected.
Other Habitat Connectivity: It is essential to enable wildlife to cross highways along key
corridors at locations like Highway 2 near Stevens Pass, Highway 12 near Randle, Highway 97
near Blewett Pass and I-90 near Vantage. We aim to establish a state funding source within the
transportation budget and political will within WSDOT to prioritize this issue.
Cascades to Olympics: A new program expected to ramp up in 2019. Habitat connections to
the Olympics are an urgent need given development trends and the distances between core
wildlife populations. An opportunity presents to dovetail off Chehalis watershed improvements
and other efforts to cost-effectively provide means for wolves, elk and other wildlife to cross I-5
and Highway 12. There may also be opportunities to promote old forest habitat in the corridor.
We will add objectives as information improves.
Restoring Wildlife:
Diverse animal species make our region rich and vibrant, and thriving wildlife populations signal
healthy forests, grasslands and watersheds. As we work to protect Northwest wildlands and to
connect core habitats and large landscapes, we also champion the return of key animal species
while building greater social tolerance to safeguard their long-term recovery.
We work with government agencies to restore threatened species, and in some cases seek
accountable implementation of laws that safeguard imperiled species. Our wildlife advocacy
and Citizen Wildlife Monitoring Project are at the core of our work for a wilder Northwest.
Key wildlife programs include:
Wolf Recovery: Since 2006, we have pursued the goal of Washington being the state where
wolf recovery is done right, focusing on both state policy and field modelling of ways to reduce
conflict with livestock through our Range Rider Pilot Project (www.conservationnw.org/range-
rider-pilot-project). We are committed to the goal of long-term recovery and public acceptance of
wolves alongside thriving rural communities. But to achieve these goals, it will take hard work,
respect and collaboration from stakeholders on all sides. Today, we are on-the-ground from
Colville and Twisp to the Teanaway and Olympia supporting gray wolf recovery. We directly
fund, train and implement non-lethal wolf-livestock conflict avoidance methods. We are working
with ranchers and hunters to help increase understanding, reduce conflict and build social
tolerance for wolves. With conservation partners, we are lobbying state and community leaders
