Washington About Us
The Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit works to support conservation of fish, wildlife, and their habitats in Washington, the Pacific Northwest, and beyond. We undertake management-relevant research, support decision makers through technical assistance, and train the next generation of conservation leaders. Our vision is excellence in applied fish and wildlife science, with research that is responsive to management agency needs while continuing to push the boundaries of our knowledge.
Unit scientists are experts in quantitative methods, population ecology, conservation biology, decision analysis, as well as human dimensions of wildlife science, including risk perceptions, wildlife tolerance, and environmental justice. We study a broad array of taxa, including marine and terrestrial mammals, marine and terrestrial birds, amphibians and reptiles, fishes, and marine and terrestrial invertebrates, as well as the habitats that support them and the human communities with which they interact. We also facilitate research collaborations between agencies and scientists at the University of Washington and Washington State University, providing our agency cooperators with access to expertise in many research areas. We work closely with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Washington Department of Ecology, the Washington Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and many other federal agencies.
We are committed to providing a world-class training environment for graduate students and post-doctoral scientists in applied fish and wildlife science. By training students in an environment that allows direct collaboration with agency scientists, managers, and university scientists, we strive to produce students who embody our vision of excellence in applied science.