Get Involved
Washington state is home to hundreds of thousands of hunters and anglers whose voices help shape the future of our wildlife, public lands, and outdoor traditions. In 2022, roughly 290,000 people hunted and 1.2 million people fished across the state.
Despite these numbers, sportsmen and women often find themselves outnumbered at decision-making tables, especially when it comes to key wildlife policies and regulations. That’s why it’s essential our community to actively participate — attend meetings, submit comments, and make your voice heard. When you engage in the process, you aren’t just protecting your rights to hunt and fish — you’re helping ensure sustainable wildlife management, balanced regulations, and a future where our traditions thrive.
Involvement is no longer optional- the state of the world has become too disconnected from nature and a hunting heritage to continue to sit on the sidelines and hope everything turns out okay. When we show up in numbers we take the power back from those who silence and dismiss in order to follow their own values and push agendas.
We must influence decisions at every level, from statewide season settings to local habitat policy.
Your experience and perspective matter, and your participation ensures that sportsmen aren’t overshadowed by anti-hunting interests in forums where policy and law are shaped.
WDFW Commission:
Attend Commission Meetings
Meetings are held monthly. We encourage all hunters to attend one meeting a year in person. A strong presence is important to ensure our interests and concerns are represented and heard. Anti-hunting groups key in on representation and it’s vital we don’t allow them to take up all the space in the room.
We have valuable experience and on the ground experience to offer and educate the Commission. This forum is a great place to publicly hold commissions accountable for their behaviors and policy choices.
You can sign up to provide virtual or in-person testimony a week or two before a meeting. Sign up for our newsletter to be notified when sign-ups open and meeting agendas are released.
WDFW Public Input
Providing input to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and the WDFW Commission is crucial for shaping fisheries, wildlife, and habitat management policies.
-Public Comments: Submit written comments on proposed rules, policies, or management plans through WDFW's website.
-Email: Contact specific departments, staff members, or commissioners via email.
-Surveys: Participate in online surveys on various topics.
-Public Testimony: Provide oral testimony during commission meetings.
-Written Comments: Submit written comments to the commission at commission@dfw.wa.gov or by individual commission emails found on our Resources page.
Legislation
Every January the State legislative session starts and we see numerous bills that have the potential to impact hunting, fishing and trapping rights.
We work to keep our community updated on legislation coming through the House and Senate and rally involvement to make sure our voices are well represented. Sportsmen offer information and on the ground testimony that can be useful in educating representatives who lack our perspective.
Whether you are providing support or opposition for a bill there are many options to participate in the legislative process. -Contact your legislators via email or send a message about a specific bills.
-Have you position on a bill noted on the legislative record.
-Submit Written Testimony
-Testify at a hearing: In-person and Virtual Options
Howl for Wildlife
Action Den:
Howl for Wildlife offers an action center for you to easily make an impact on current, local and national hunting, fishing and conservation related issues. These actions allow you to reach state officials and decision makers with ease through streamlined, industry-leading technology.
https://www.howlforwildlife.org/take_action
Letter to the Editor:
Howl’s Letter to the Editor feature allows you to easy find and submit letters to multiple online publication. Howl does all the hard work of the submission process for you. With this tool you can take back your voice and educate the reader about sportsmen or conservation related issue. The public narrative around hunting is often controlled by those who are uneducated and misinformed and this is a way to simply share your opinions and set the truth straight.