Fall 1999 Table of Contents

From the director: Thanks for all you do!
By Jeff Koenings, WDFW Director

Thank you for everything you do to help wildlife in your backyard and beyond!

That’s the first thing I want to tell you as one of our nearly 6,000 Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary managers across the state of Washington.

Now that I’ve been a Washington resident and managed your Department of Fish and Wildlife for almost ten months, I know what dedication many of you have to making sure wildlife has a future. And I want you to know that’s appreciated. Without your support in our mandate to protect and perpetuate wildlife and fish in Washington, we couldn’t begin to do our job.

That job has become increasingly complex and challenging in the last decade. In the last year alone we’ve been working with many federal, state, county, and local governments and groups to recover threatened wildlife and fish and their habitat so people can enjoy them for generations to come.

Such professional fish and wildlife management isn’t free. Traditional support, from the sale of fishing and hunting licenses, only covers about a third of our budget. State general fund dollars only pick up another third. Coverage of the balance varies with other sources.

So it’s no surprise that we’re looking for ways to provide long-term funding stability. This fall Congress likely will consider landmark legislation that could provide some of that stability by earmarking certain federal funds for a variety of conservation uses, including “non-game” or “non-consumptive” wildlife recreation such as backyard wildlife sanctuary programs. Please check out the details on page four.

Thanks again for all you do, and keep up the good work!

Previous section

Next section