Hunting prospects

Image
Female hunter wearing cammo and hunter orange looking through binoculars and her rifle. sitting next to a spotting scope and
Photo by Cody Nelson

To help hunters prepare for a successful hunting season, wildlife biologists for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) consulted their local sources and contributed their personal observations about hunting prospects throughout the state.

How to use the hunting prospects

For management purposes, WDFW has six regions and divided into 17 wildlife districts. Each district has at least one biologist who is responsible for monitoring local wildlife populations and recommending appropriate seasons. These recommendations are based on past hunter success, weather, fire, and changing ownership policies. The professional observations are rolled into district predictions about what this year's hunting seasons may bring.

We encourage hunters to spend some time reviewing the information for every district, not just your traditional hunting areas. Washington has a wide diversity of habitats and game populations. The Hunting Prospects report is an important source of information for planning your 2023-24 hunts, and you may gain some new insights into new locations and new species to hunt.

We have also developed detailed how-to articles on several hunting subjects. For information on how and where to hunt waterfowl in Washington, see "Let's Go WaterFowling." If your interests are more toward upland bird hunting, you don't want to miss "Upland Bird Hunting In Washington." For turkey, take a look at The Basics of Turkey Hunting in Washington pamphlet or search for ‘Turkey Takeover’ on MyWDFW. If you are looking for places to hunt, start with our "Places to go hunting" page. Finally, get yourself ready by studying "How to Prepare for the Hunting Season."

2023 Statewide Hunting Prospects

Download complete statewide hunting prospects

Eastern Washington - Region 1

District 1 - Ferry, Pend Oreille, and Stevens counties

District 2 - Lincoln, Spokane, and Whitman counties

District 3 - Asotin, Columbia, Garfield, and Walla Walla counties

Northcentral Washington - Region 2

District 5 - Adams and Grant counties

District 6 - Okanogan County

District 7 - Chelan and Douglas counties

Southcentral Washington - Region 3

District 4 - Benton and Franklin counties

District 8 - Kittitas and Yakima counties

North Puget Sound - Region 4

District 12 - King County

District 13 - San Juan, Island and Snohomish counties

District 14 - Skagit and Whatcom counties

Southwest Washington - Region 5

District 9 - Clark, Klickitat & Skamania counties

District 10 - Cowlitz, Lewis & Wahkiakum counties

South Sound/Olympic Peninsula - Region 6

District 11 - Pierce and Thurston counties

District 15 - Jefferson (East), Kitsap and Mason counties

District 16 - Clallam and Jefferson (West) counties

District 17 - Grays Harbor and Pacific counties