Thursday is WDFW commission confirmation, contact legislators now.

[saylean]

https://leg.wa.gov/Senate/Committees/AWNP/Pages/MembersStaff.aspx

If you don’t want a Commissioner confirmed, now is the time to speak up. That’s the link to the decision makers. Might want to mention the conflict of interest between certain Commissioner and western wildlife dot org.

[Special T]

 

[dwils233]

To the same extent- Linville has been a great commissioner and is yet to be confirmed. Please make recommendations to confirm the good ones even as you make contact about ones you don't want confirmed

[WWC]

There are currently six unconfirmed members of the Fish & Wildlife Commission.  These six members are coming up before the Senate Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources & Parks Committee on Thursday, February 24, 2022 at 1:30 PM.  No testimony will be allowed at the hearing, so we will need get our comments in before that time.  The six Commissioners being heard are:

 

SGA 9100 - Molly F Linville, Member, Fish and Wildlife Commission

SGA 9101 - James R Anderson, Member, Fish and Wildlife Commission

SGA 9250 - Lorna Smith, Member, Fish and Wildlife Commission

SGA 9402 - Timothy J Ragen, Member, Fish and Wildlife Commission

SGA 9404 - John F Lehmkuhl, Member, Fish and Wildlife Commission

SGA 9405 - Melanie J Rowland, Member, Fish and Wildlife Commission


RCW 77.04.040

Commission—Qualifications of members.

Persons eligible for appointment as members of the commission shall have general knowledge of the habits and distribution of fish and wildlife and shall not hold another state, county, or municipal elective or appointive office. In making these appointments, the governor shall seek to maintain a balance reflecting all aspects of fish and wildlife, including representation recommended by organized groups representing sportfishers, commercial fishers, hunters, private landowners, and environmentalists. Persons eligible for appointment as fish and wildlife commissioners shall comply with the provisions of chapters 42.52 and * 42.17 RCW.

 

When Governor Inslee announced his most recent three appointees we conducted an informal survey of our member organizations, a wide range of hunting  groups to learn if they had been consulted as noted in RCW 77.04.040.  None of the some 50 plus organizations we contacted statewide reported having any opportunity to make recommendations specific to any of the three newest appointees.  When Governor Inslee announced his most recent three appointees, an informal survey was also conducted on the fishing side,  a wide range of sport fishing groups and the commercial fishing industry seeking to learn if they had been consulted as noted in RCW 77.04.040.  None of the some 75 plus organizations that were  contacted statewide had reported having any opportunity to make recommendations specific to any of the three newest appointees.  The Department of Fish & Wildlife has the difficult task of regulating multiple constituencies hence the stipulated requirement for its Commission to represent and maintain a balance reflecting all aspects of fish and wildlife management.  During our data collection effort, we were advised that the Office of the Governor had made a commitment to the Tribes to seek their input relative to commission appointments about two years ago, or so, and that apparently has not, and/or did not occur. 

 

The second issue of deep concern focuses on the balance of representation requirement of RCW 77.04.040.   Three of the six members fit the balance doctrine of RCW 77.04.040 and deserve confirmation of the state senate.   

 

SGA 9101 Jim Anderson fully meets the expectations stipulated in RCW 77.04.040 from the perspective of a broad background in fisheries management.  He started fishing when he was four, and hunted since he was ten, and has had fishing and hunting licenses every year since.  Commissioner Anderson has served numerous boards and committees at local, state and federal levels.  He has been Secretary of the Board of the Puget Sound Restoration Fund and the Washington Water Trust for many years, and he has an outstanding knowledge of treaty issues.  He was the Executive Director of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission from 1985 to 2005.  He is sorely needed on the Commission.   

 

SGA 9100 Molly Linville also meets the expectations stipulated in RCW 77.04.040 in terms of the private landowner stipulation and agriculture.  She has worked with state legislators on issues such as; fire suppression in communities not served by a fire district, fire impacts on rangeland, environmental laws that have become too cumbersome for small family farms, the mental health crisis in farming communities and predator/livestock conflicts.  She has served on the Wolf Advisory Group where she was able to work collaboratively with animal-rights groups, environmental groups, ranchers, farmers, hunters,  and other stakeholders.  She is also needed on the Commission.

 

SGA 9404 John Lehmkuhl brings a long history of forestry practices, a beneficial knowledge base from the perspective of wildlife management, which also meets the expectations stipulated in RCW 77.04.040.  He is committed to fostering both consumptive uses and non-consumptive biodiversity aspects.  We believe he will bring a balanced approach, which will be beneficial to the Commission.

 

The other three appointees: Melanie Rowland, Tim Ragen, and Lorna Smith should all be denied confirmation for the appearance of an intentional effort to bypass the knowledge and balance requirements stipulated in RCW 77.04.040.  If confirmed, these three would throw the Commission out balance.   The Commission cannot, and will not, function successfully if it is heavily influenced by appointees representing primarily singular interests likely to be driven by political motivations versus knowledge  and expertise.  To reference RCW 77.04.040 “including representation recommended by organized groups representing sportfishers, commercial fishers, hunters, private landowners,” none of our hunting groups contacted, nor were any fishing, commercial, or landowner organizations that we surveyed contacted by the Governor’ Office, nor were the Tribes input sought out.  There is no way that these three Commissioners should be confirmed.

[WWC]

Use these details to write your own letter and send it to the Senate Natural Resource Comitties. If you only have time to push the easy button our call to action should be up on HOWL FOR WILDLIFE  tomorrow.

kevin.vandewege@leg.wa.gov.
jesse.salomon@leg.wa.gov.
judy.warnick@leg.wa.gov.
Jim.Honeyford@leg.wa.gov.
christine.rolfes@leg.wa.gov.
shelly.short@leg.wa.gov
derek.stanford@leg.wa.gov.

[Skyvalhunter]

email sent

[saylean]

Good info wwc.

Get to it people.

[WWC]

The H4W link is live. Please do not delay in sending a letter.

https://www.howlforwildlife.org/wafwconfirmation

If you are on Facebook Please help us mobilize sportmen by sharing to your profile.

https://www.facebook.com/w4wc.org/

[harveymarv]

done; thank you for posting

[Special T]

Done

[Wphunt]

Done, thank you for posting.

[cem3434]

Done and shared.

[Bullkllr]

Wife and I both count as done.

We need to keep this going, regardless of whether we think it will be listened to. This is ultimately more important than any single fish/game issue, imo.

[Rainier10]

Done.

The Howl for wildlife link is super easy and you can modify the letter also.  I added my credentials to the beginning of the letter.

[BowLake]

Done, thank you for organizing this!