Fish and Wildlife

The availability of population status and trends information for threatened and endangered and other key fish and wildlife species in the Methow Watershed is extremely limited. Information that is currently available is summarized in this section.

Threatened and Endangered Fish Species

Three fish species occur in the Methow Watershed that are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act: Upper Columbia River spring Chinook, Upper Columbia River steelhead, and bull trout. Upper Columbia River spring Chinook are considered to be “in crisis” and the Upper Columbia River steelhead are “not keeping pace” with recovery target goals (State of the Salmon 2020). Trends in abundance of the Methow populations of spring Chinook and steelhead are provided in the graphs below.

Methow Spring Chinook, 2000-2022

Methow Steelhead, 2000-2022

Threatened, Endangered and Other Important Wildlife Species

The gray wolf is listed under the Washington State Endangered Species Act as endangered, and is federally listed under the Endangered Species Act in our area. After essentially having been eliminated as a breeding species from Washington State, the first fully-documented, successfully-breeding wolf pack was identified in the Methow Watershed in 2008 (WDFW 2011). Since this time, the wolf population in the Methow Watershed has increased to a high of 36 individuals, with five packs in 2022. In 2023 and 2024 the total number of wolves decreased to 30 individuals with three packs each year.

Wolf Packs in the Methow Watershed, 2005-2024

Last updated May 2025.