OLYMPIA – Three bills introduced by Sen. Shelly Short in Washington’s just-finished 2025 legislative session have been approved by lawmakers and have been sent to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.

The bills address problems related to the exponential growth of wolf populations in Short’s 7th Legislative District and establish an appeals process at the Department of Natural Resources for burn-permit violations.

Washington lawmakers adjourned their 2025 legislative session Sunday evening after 105 days in Olympia.

“Unfortunately, Northeast Washington has borne the burden of wolf recovery as predator populations rebound,” said Short, R-Addy. “Conflicts between humans and wildlife are inevitable when apex predators enter the picture. Living with wolves requires active hands-on management to reduce harm to farmers, ranchers and everyone else who lives in the most rural regions of our state.”

Wolves made their way back to Washington in 2008, crossing the border from North Idaho nearly a century after they were hunted to extinction in this state. They quickly recolonized portions of their historic range across the state’s northeastern counties. Today a minimum of 230 wolves are living in Washington state in 43 packs, most of them in the rugged mountains and forests of the 7th Legislative District, according to the annual report issued on wolf conservation and management issued by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Though these latest figures reflect a nine percent decrease from 2023, they demonstrate a 20 percent annual growth rate in the wolf population since 2008. This steady growth in the wolf population prompted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to lift an endangered species listing in the eastern third of the state, while a Washington-state listing remains.

With this rise in population has come an increase in attacks on livestock. Last year state officials documented 40 depredation events and confirmed that 17 cattle and one domestic dog were killed by wolves, with wolf attacks suspected in two additional cattle deaths. Many other attacks went unreported. Other impacts have included reduced livestock pregnancy rates and reduced birth weights.

Senate Bill 5343 continues funding for a local wildlife specialist in Ferry, Pend Oreille and Stevens counties to aid the Department of Fish and Wildlife in wolf management. The bill provides grant funding from the Northeast Washington Wolf-Livestock Management Account. The account pays for non-lethal countermeasures to wolf predation such as contracted range-riding to monitor conditions at the ground level.

Short said the bill codifies an arrangement that has given farmers and ranchers in the region a point of contact and a voice in state-level management issues. The bill eliminates the need for the counties to seek regular appropriations from the Legislature for the next six years, until the arrangement expires in 2031.

Senate Bill 5165 addresses an indirect result of the growing population of wolves and other predators. As the predators drive deer and elk into the lowlands, crop damage is on the rise.

The state currently compensates farmers for crop losses in excess of $1,000 due to deer and elk. The bill would ensure that at least 20 percent of state funds for compensation is set aside for sparsely populated counties with 21 people or fewer per square mile. Twelve of the state’s 39 counties would qualify.

Short’s third bill, Senate Bill 5334, was introduced at the request of the Department of Natural Resources, creating an appeals process for citations issued by the agency for violations of burn permits. To reduce fire hazards, DNR regulates burning on public lands, typically utilized to dispose of waste products from forestry operations and to manage storm- or flood-related debris. Previous legislation granted the agency authority to issue citations and directed it to establish an appeals process. The bill gives the public an avenue to challenge enforcement actions, Short said, by sending appeals to the state Pollution Control Hearings Board, an independent forum.