From Pressure Points to Possibilities: Insights from the First Wolf Wise Communities Forum
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
By Amy Porter, Director of Conservation
In late February, Wolf Haven hosted its first Wolf Wise Communities (WWC) forum, bringing together a small group of South Puget Sound community partners representing a range of perspectives essential to this effort. Over the past two years, we have built strong relationships with individuals across sectors, including livestock producers, local conservation districts, nonprofit organizations, university researchers, tribal partners, and both the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
For this initial forum, we intentionally kept the group small and focused on individuals who were already familiar with the vision of the WWC program. The goal was to create a space for assessing the program’s objectives and to test how best to structure & facilitate discussions before expanding future forums to include a wider array of community voices. The forum had 14 total participants, including seven local livestock producers. The discussion was remarkably constructive, with participants sharing thoughtful, well-informed perspectives on both the opportunities & challenges surrounding wolf recovery in the region.
WWC is rooted in the belief that wolf conservation - and wildlife conservation more broadly - is fundamentally a social challenge. The forum reinforced this perspective, as participants repeatedly emphasized the importance of relationships, trust, and community dialogue in shaping durable coexistence strategies.
To guide the conversation, participants engaged in a “pressure points” exercise designed to explore the opportunities and challenges in moving WWC from theory to practice. The exercise invited participants to share perspectives on community priorities, identify areas of common ground, highlight potential barriers, and explore practical solutions that could support both working lands and thriving wildlife populations. Here are the five key concepts and focus topics that emerged from our exercise and subsequent discussion:
Wolf Haven's first Wolf Wise Communities forum participants engaging in a "pressure points" exercise
1) Understanding Community Perspectives
Effective coexistence begins with listening. Participants emphasized that understanding community perspectives requires openness to the different ways stakeholders frame issues and experiences. The goal is not to convince others to agree, but to remain engaged and willing to listen even when perspectives diverge.
Participants highlighted the importance of broader public awareness of the realities facing working lands, too. Many farms in the region are multigenerational operations that are navigating rising costs, development pressures, and volatile markets. Increasing property taxes, rising fuel and electricity costs, and the growing price of machinery are placing additional strains on small and mid-sized agricultural operations.
There was also shared concern that public conversations about wolves and other wildlife on working lands often overlook the day-to-day realities of livestock management and animal husbandry. Creating opportunities for community members to hear directly from local producers about these challenges can help build understanding across perspectives and foster more informed dialogue.
2) Identifying Shared Values
Despite different perspectives and lived experiences, participants identified several areas of meaningful common ground. A central shared value is the importance of protecting open space from development and maintaining working lands that support biodiversity, habitat connectivity, and resilient ecosystems.
Thriving landscapes depend on both healthy ecological systems and viable agricultural operations. Wolves play important roles in maintaining ecological health, while ranchers steward farmland and open space that provide habitat for wildlife, sustain rural economies, and supply nutritious food for local communities.
Participants also emphasized animal welfare as an area of shared concern. Both livestock producers and wolf advocates recognized that low-stress management practices benefit animal health, reproductive success, and overall system resilience. Two livestock producers shared personal stories of the deep familiarity and care they develop for the animals they raise. These narratives of connection - often absent from broader discussions about livestock management - can highlight shared values around stewardship and animal welfare, helping build a stronger foundation for meaningful coexistence conversations.
3) Recognizing Multiple Forms of Expertise
Another key theme centered on information and expertise. While scientific research remains critical for understanding wolf behavioral ecology and the social dimensions of human–wildlife coexistence, valuable knowledge also comes from those living and working on the land every day.
When expertise is seen as residing only within agencies, regulatory bodies, or academic institutions, trust can erode. Participants highlighted the importance of integrating the knowledge of producers, landowners, tribal members, and other community experts alongside scientific research - acknowledging that research can be interpreted in different ways so it’s important to consider sources carefully rather than selectively using data to support a specific argument.
In many cases, those most directly affected by wolves are not the same people making policy decisions. Ensuring these voices help guide coexistence strategies is essential to developing practical, locally-grounded solutions.
4) Building Trust
Trust quickly emerged as a foundational element for the success of the WWC program. Participants noted that trust can be fragile in wildlife management discussions, particularly when past processes have left community members feeling unheard or marginalized. Establishing and sustaining trust requires humility, empathy, transparency, and consistent engagement. While creating welcoming opportunities for dialogue is important, participants emphasized that trust ultimately develops through shared action and collaborative problem-solving. Meaningful engagement helps shape decisions that affect both people and wildlife.
5) A Shared Priority: Community-Based Carcass Management
One of the most concrete outcomes of the forum was strong interest in developing a regional livestock carcass composting and disposal system in the South Puget Sound. Participants noted that carcass management is a critical but often overlooked component of wildlife conflict prevention. Improper disposal or unmanaged carcasses can unintentionally attract predators & scavengers. Some ranchers have experimented with onsite composting, but without coordinated systems, these efforts may inadvertently draw in wildlife.
Several participants highlighted the community carcass management program developed by the Blackfoot Challenge in Montana as an inspiring model. Their program integrates livestock carcass disposal with broader community waste management and has been widely recognized as highly effective in reducing wildlife attractants. Their model also relies on multiple funding sources, including state support, community investment, and philanthropic funding. This was an important takeaway because depending solely on federal programs can carry additional administrative requirements.
Photos of the Blackfoot Challenge's community carcass management program (credit Julia Smith)
Participants expressed strong enthusiasm for exploring a similar system locally, emphasizing that a community-wide system works best when many producers participate. In agricultural landscapes where multiple ranches operate nearby, a single unmanaged attractant can affect neighboring operations. We discussed practical options like piloting a small composting facility to handle limited volumes before scaling up. Even a modest pilot could help determine facility size, management needs, and overall costs.
Importantly, several participants expressed interest in helping advance the concept by exploring potential facility locations, assessing regulatory requirements, identifying funding opportunities, and gathering data on local carcass disposal needs. A well-designed carcass management system could provide benefits beyond wolf conflict prevention by supporting agricultural operations, reducing waste challenges, and improving environmental management while contributing to broader community goals such as farmland viability, habitat stewardship, and climate resilience.
Looking Ahead
As this work continues, coordination across neighboring counties and communities will be essential. Ecological and social dynamics extend beyond local boundaries, and exchanging lessons learned while building a connected network of knowledge and resources will strengthen our collective capacity to coexist with wolves and other wildlife.
The work ahead will require creativity, sustained engagement, and a broad coalition of partners. The first Wolf Wise Communities forum demonstrated that the community is ready to rise to the challenge, and we look forward to engaging other interested community members in future forums and discussions. If you have not already, visit our Wolf Wise Communities page to sign up for more project updates.