By Janine Bogar
If we want to travel from the Cascade mountains to the Olympics, we have many roads to help us do so. But for wildlife, it can be a lot harder, due in part to those very roads and other habitat disruption.
The ability for wildlife to move from one area to another is vital – for finding food, shelter, mates, and adapting to climate change. Wildlife corridors have always allowed for this movement, but are increasingly at risk from highways, urban development, agriculture, and other human activities. While birds can move between areas more easily than terrestrial animals, wildlife corridors and connected habitats are also needed for healthy bird populations as well as seed dispersal.
In 2025, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and WA Dept. of Transportation (WADOT) completed a state plan to support wildlife corridors across the state. The Washington Habitat Connectivity Action Plan (WAHCAP) (https://wdfw.wa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/02630/wdfw02630.pdf) identifies 13 corridors in the state to prioritize for protection and enhancement. The WAHCAP maps connectivity of habitats, identifies priority areas for conservation, and recommends actions to protect and enhance corridors. One action that many Washingtonians may be familiar with is the wildlife crossing over Interstate 90 near Snoqualmie Pass. Other proposed actions include habitat preservation and restoration.
One of the 13 identified corridors, the Olympics to Cascades North, runs though the SSBA member area. This corridor potentially enables animals in the Olympics to migrate into the Cascades, or vice versa. Conservation Northwest (https://conservationnw.org/about-us/), a non-profit with the mission to “protect, connect and restore wildlands and wildlife from the Washington Coast to the British Columbia Rockies,” has just achieved a big success for this corridor. They have secured multiple properties via a capital campaign to protect the corridor, purchasing the final property in March 2026. Located in southern Thurston County, the 93-acre, six-generation private farm has been entrusted to the Chehalis Tribe, which will protect the property from development and support the wildlife corridor. Some of the other properties purchased by Conservation Northwest may provide a future wildlife crossing over Interstate 5.
SSBA actively engages in habitat protection in this region as well, in support of the WAHCAP and Conservation Northwest. In both the 2025 and 2026 state legislative sessions, SSBA testified in support of Senate Bill 5203 – Ensuring connectivity for Washington wildlife through safe passages. SSBA also led a successful effort to convince the WA State Audubon Conservation Committees (WASACC) to support this bill. In addition to calling for creating the Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Action Plan, now completed, SB 5203 also called for the creation of an account to help fund the work in the plan. While the bill did not pass, it might be reintroduced in the 2027 session. If it is, SSBA will again testify in support of the importance of protecting and funding wildlife corridors, and put out a call for our members and Audubon chapters around the state to voice their support as well. Stay tuned….
For more information:
- Press release and summary of the WAHCAP: https://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/02630)
- Press release on Conservation Northwest’s work on the Cascades to Olympics Corridor: https://conservationnw.org/news-updates/conservation-northwest-completes-cascades-to-olympics-capital-campaign/?%20vgo_ee=6JpxH0EFyONBdNxxdQ4rm6nKz+0ZaDInCKRkow2igrwVGg==:Xg2kC9ibK9l3YfYCNheCA/aiMkkehEVv
- Senate Bill 5203 – Ensuring connectivity for Washington wildlife through safe passages: https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/?BillNumber=5203&Year=2025&Initiative=false
- Video by Conservation Northwest’s work on the Cascades to Olympics Corridor:
Photo credit: Roosevelt Elk, by Rachel Holland.
