Washington's State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) will be revised by October 2025.
WDFW hosted a public webinar on May 5, 2025 to share some draft plan pieces and provide opportunities for review and comment of those. The May meeting materials were posted on the meeting event page and the Public Input SWAP Project page on April 28, 2025, and the comment period closed on June 2, 2025.
Another meeting will be planned later in summer 2025 for the full draft plan review.
You can view materials and recordings from several public meetings about this SWAP revision:
- May 5, 2025: Second SWAP Public Meeting on May 5, 2025 – this is the TVW recording and transcript
- September 17, 2024: WDFW blog about what we heard in the August 2024 public meeting from participants
- August 28, 2024: SWAP Public Meeting on August 28, 2024 - this is the TVW recording and transcript
- August 9, 2024: August 8-10, 2024 Meeting agenda - WDFW Fish and Wildlife Commission | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (1:15 PM afternoon session)
- August 9, 2024: TVW recording and transcript of the SWAP presentation at the August 2024 Commission meeting
Thanks to everyone who took our first survey that was open from Sept. 26 through Nov. 15, 2024, and who provided comments May 5 through June 2, 2025 on the pieces we shared in the May public meeting.
If you would like to subscribe to updates or leave a general comment, you may email swap2025@publicinput.com
The swap2025 inbox will close after our last round of comments on the draft plan in late summer 2025, but we will use the subscriber list to let folks know when the plan is approved by US Fish and Wildlife Service, likely in 2026.
About the SWAP
Washington's State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) is a comprehensive plan for conserving the state's fish and wildlife and the natural habitats on which they depend. It is part of a nationwide effort by all 50 states and 5 U.S. territories to develop conservation action plans and participate in the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants (SWG) Program. The purpose of the SWG Program is to support state actions that broadly benefit wildlife and habitats, but particularly "Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) (PDF)" as identified by each individual state.
Washington’s first plan was completed in 2005 and was called the Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy or CWCS. The CWCS has since become known as the State Wildlife Action Plan. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) requires these plans be updated every 10 years in order to remain eligible for State Wildlife Grants funding. The 2015 SWAP is a complete revision of the 2005 CWCS with changes to the list of Species of Greatest Conservation Need, threats reassessed, and new conservation actions identified. It objectively assesses the status of the state's wildlife and habitats, identifies key problems they face, and outlines the actions needed to conserve them over the long term. A guiding principle of the SWAP planning process is to identify actions needed to conserve wildlife and their habitats before species become too rare and restoration efforts too costly. Our intent is that the SWAP serves to inform conservation priorities and guide conservation actions statewide. It is envisioned that any government entity and conservation partner that has an interest in wildlife and habitat conservation will be able to use the information presented in the SWAP and implement actions that align with their own conservation mission and goals. To that end, the SWAP provides tools and informational resources to support collaborative conservation initiatives across a range of organizations and entities.
Washington State Wildlife Action Plan
Download Complete SWAP Document (PDF)
Download SWAP Spatial Data
Contents
Chapters 1-7
- Cover, Recommended Citation, Acknowledgments and Table of Contents (PDF)
- Cover Letter and Road Map (PDF)
- Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview (PDF)
- Chapter 2: State Overview (PDF)
- Chapter 3: Species of Greatest Conservation Need (PDF)
- Chapter 4: Habitats of Greatest Conservation Need (PDF)
- Chapter 5: Climate Change Vulnerability of Species and Habitats (PDF)
- Chapter 6: Monitoring and Adaptive Management (PDF)
- Chapter 7: Implementation (PDF)
Appendix A -- Species Fact Sheets
- Appendix A1 - Mammals (PDF)
- Appendix A2 - Birds (PDF)
- Appendix A3 - Amphibians and Reptiles (PDF)
- Appendix A4 - Fishes (PDF)
- Appendix A5 - Invertebrates (PDF)
Appendices B-F
- Appendix B:Range and Potential Habitat Distribution Maps (PDF)
- Appendix C: Climate Change Supporting Information (PDF)
- Appendix D: Outreach and Stakeholder Engagement (PDF)
- Appendix E: Summary of WDFW Prioritization matrix (PDF)
- Appendix F: Complete Bibliography for all references cited in the SWAP (PDF)