Commissioners Smith and Rowlands Rant

[MtnMuley]

 

[Elkaholic daWg]

Well there you go a written confession from Lorna about her breaking state wildlife rules. Does that not disqualify you from being on the commission? Can A person with wildlife violations be appointed to the commission? Seems like they could be if they leave her on there. You can’t even be a master hunter if you’ve had a wild life violation in the last 10 years. And if you receive one while you are a master hunter you are stripped of your title. Why would this be different for the commission who makes all of our rules?

Nothing in the law prohibits someone with a previous wildlife conviction from serving on the commission.

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Seems this one is not "previous" How about "active" 

[harveymarv]

i sent lorna an email invite to resign - costs nothing to give her some feedback which becomes public record with the whole commission cc’d.

Subject: Invitation to Resign
 
Dear Commissioner Smith,

I would like to respectfully invite you to resign from the WDFW Commission, for the following (main) 3 reasons:

1. You have repeatedly propagated the false narratives of extremist anti-hunting groups, particularly regarding but not limited to the cancellation of the spring bear hunt. The spring bear hunt is not unethical. It is a subsistence and management hunt, not a trophy hunt. The extremely rare unintentional harvest of lactating sows resulting in orphaned cubs is nothing compared to the consumption of those same cubs by unharvested boars. Your dishonesty and misrepresentation on this matter has no place on the Commission. 
2. You have repeatedly ignored the sound science and professional opinions of WDFW staff biologists in favor of your own untrained interpretation of data and have repeatedly asked staff for more data when sufficent data already exists for them to come to sound conclusions and recommendations. You do this as a tactic to further your biased agendas. Biased agendas and ignoring wildlife professionals will ultimately do great harm to Washington wildlife, and this tactic has no place on our Commission.
3. Your tactics and approach are divisive and contentious, and you have alienated the majority of hunters and tribal leaders in our state. Washington citizens need to be united if we are to protect our wild outdoors from the threats of habitat loss and climate change. Hunters and non-hunters alike will need to work together - both groups have a great deal to offer. Even if hunters are a population minority in the state, their contribution to habitat preservation and population recovery has been crucial in the past and will continue to be crucial in the future. Our WDFW needs Commissioners who can unite and lead, not divide and alienate.
In the (recent) words of Mitt Romney to George Santos - "You don't belong here". If you really care about Washington state wildlife please consider my invitation to resign from the WDFW Commission. I am not alone in this request:

https://www.change.org/p/lorna-smith-demand-lorna-smith-resign-from-washington-dept-of-fish-and-wildlife-wdfw-commission-d4f70a10-ce34-431a-9e16-43e3d97c5995

[pianoman9701]

Good show. Thanks for the link.

[Special T]

Well there you go a written confession from Lorna about her breaking state wildlife rules. Does that not disqualify you from being on the commission? Can A person with wildlife violations be appointed to the commission? Seems like they could be if they leave her on there. You can’t even be a master hunter if you’ve had a wild life violation in the last 10 years. And if you receive one while you are a master hunter you are stripped of your title. Why would this be different for the commission who makes all of our rules?

Nothing in the law prohibits someone with a previous wildlife conviction from serving on the commission.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

Has she been convicted? or is this an admission? if its an admission is that different? Is Chief Bear under obligation to investigate if asked to? If he allows this to go un investigated how are sportsmen supposed to react? Which rules are worth enforcing which are not? Am I allowed to barter my fish and game? Should I care about those "Small" rules if the leaders are except? Its illegal for me to pass a pole with a hooked fish to my kid. Perhaps my barb isnt crimped down hard enough? Does Enforcement want wholesale mutiny from sportsmen? This will go quite badly for the department if this is ignored.

[Special T]

Well there you go a written confession from Lorna about her breaking state wildlife rules. Does that not disqualify you from being on the commission? Can A person with wildlife violations be appointed to the commission? Seems like they could be if they leave her on there. You can’t even be a master hunter if you’ve had a wild life violation in the last 10 years. And if you receive one while you are a master hunter you are stripped of your title. Why would this be different for the commission who makes all of our rules?

Nothing in the law prohibits someone with a previous wildlife conviction from serving on the commission.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

Probably for the best but your inbox is full

[bigtex]

Well there you go a written confession from Lorna about her breaking state wildlife rules. Does that not disqualify you from being on the commission? Can A person with wildlife violations be appointed to the commission? Seems like they could be if they leave her on there. You can’t even be a master hunter if you’ve had a wild life violation in the last 10 years. And if you receive one while you are a master hunter you are stripped of your title. Why would this be different for the commission who makes all of our rules?

Nothing in the law prohibits someone with a previous wildlife conviction from serving on the commission.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

Probably for the best but your inbox is full

Sorry just cleared it out.

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[Special T]

apply some pressure - email Smith and Rowland and demand their resignation. cc the WDFW commission email so it gets distributed to the whole commission. be specific about why, and be civil and professional. some form of pressure worked to get Koontz to resign.

commission@dfw.wa.gov

Lorna.Smith@dfw.gov.net

mjrowland@greatcat.net

this petition was from a while ago, but a few folks at least were willing to sign:

https://www.change.org/p/lorna-smith-demand-lorna-smith-resign-from-washington-dept-of-fish-and-wildlife-wdfw-commission-d4f70a10-ce34-431a-9e16-43e3d97c5995

I like where your head is at... Koontz was intelligent enough to be shamed into resigning. Im not sure the same assertion could be made about Lorna Smith.

[harveymarv]

sorry - i gave the wrong email for lorna - the correct one is:

Lorna.Smith@dfw.wa.gov

[hunter399]

Commission is a joke.
Skip those guys resigning.
Send the whole Commission to retirement.
Just allow WDFW to make rule changes.
Commission can just be a committee with no real power to make changes. Kinda like our comment period for changes,They can comment ,but really have no say or power on anything.

[Buckhunter24]

Well there you go a written confession from Lorna about her breaking state wildlife rules. Does that not disqualify you from being on the commission? Can A person with wildlife violations be appointed to the commission? Seems like they could be if they leave her on there. You can’t even be a master hunter if you’ve had a wild life violation in the last 10 years. And if you receive one while you are a master hunter you are stripped of your title. Why would this be different for the commission who makes all of our rules?

Nothing in the law prohibits someone with a previous wildlife conviction from serving on the commission.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

Has she been convicted? or is this an admission? if its an admission is that different? Is Chief Bear under obligation to investigate if asked to? If he allows this to go un investigated how are sportsmen supposed to react? Which rules are worth enforcing which are not? Am I allowed to barter my fish and game? Should I care about those "Small" rules if the leaders are except? Its illegal for me to pass a pole with a hooked fish to my kid. Perhaps my barb isnt crimped down hard enough? Does Enforcement want wholesale mutiny from sportsmen? This will go quite badly for the department if this is ignored.

Been following this thread, first time I've ever heard this. I might be headed to the slammer 

[KevrosWanderin]

So what can we do?

[bigtex]

Well there you go a written confession from Lorna about her breaking state wildlife rules. Does that not disqualify you from being on the commission? Can A person with wildlife violations be appointed to the commission? Seems like they could be if they leave her on there. You can’t even be a master hunter if you’ve had a wild life violation in the last 10 years. And if you receive one while you are a master hunter you are stripped of your title. Why would this be different for the commission who makes all of our rules?

Nothing in the law prohibits someone with a previous wildlife conviction from serving on the commission.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

Has she been convicted? or is this an admission? if its an admission is that different? Is Chief Bear under obligation to investigate if asked to? If he allows this to go un investigated how are sportsmen supposed to react? Which rules are worth enforcing which are not? Am I allowed to barter my fish and game? Should I care about those "Small" rules if the leaders are except? Its illegal for me to pass a pole with a hooked fish to my kid. Perhaps my barb isnt crimped down hard enough? Does Enforcement want wholesale mutiny from sportsmen? This will go quite badly for the department if this is ignored.

As far as Chief Bear being obligated to investigate if asked to does that mean anybody can contact him at anytime and ask him to investigate any and all claims? What happened to law enforcement officer discretion? Are we absolutely sure Chief Bear didn't advise Smith what she admitted to was illegal?

What Smith is claiming she does (bartering with neighbors in fish and wildlife) is a felony (RCW 77.15.260). There is not a prosecutor in this state who would take the felony case of someone trading venison/salmon/etc to their neighbor for fruit/vegetables/meals whatever they trade. The state's wildlife trafficking law is based on commercial level felony trafficking/sales cases, that's why it's a felony. The intent isn't to lock up every citizen who trades a bag of deer jerkey for a bag of smoked salmon with a felony charge. Lets face it, I'm sure many people on this forum having swapped bags of jerky, sausage, etc. on here, should they be charged with felonies? There is no lesser offense they can be charged with, if you swap/barter a bag of jerky to your friend/neighbor for a bag of smoked salmon it is a felony, there is no misdemeanor or infraction (ticket) that you can be charged with.

In no way am I defending Smith, in fact I wish Fish Hunt Northwest would've brought up the appropriate law (the RCW above) which would've shown how the act of bartering in fish/wildlife is a felony. Maybe "Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Admits to Felony Wildlife Crime" would be a bigger headline. It obviously paints a giant black eye on her that she is flat out admitting to committing a wildlife felony. I think some on here think with Smith's admission that WDFW Officers/county prosecutors are going to be pounding on her door to lock her up, it isn't going to happen.

[Russ McDonald]

Just wondering if you all realize this is from May of last year.  That being said somwthing needs to be done about the commission.  There is a commision reform bill being floated.  SB5675. This bill would:

Establish a diverse and fair nominating committee process for Washington Fish and Game Commission appointments. 

Ensure that science is the primary driver of fish and wildlife management, 

Place a 90 day limit to fill and confirm commission vacancies.
We need your help!  Please respectfully send an email to Senator Van De Wege at Kevin.VanDeWege@leg.wa.gov requesting a hearing for Senate Bill 5675.


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[baldopepper]

I don't think the bartering aspect was brought up with any real intention of pursuing prosecution.  I think it's more pointing out that the commissioner is more interested in pursuing her agenda than educating herself on wildlife laws that are meant to further conservation goals. She is one of the urban outdoors people that take an  occasional hike or scenic drive and think that qualifies them to be an expert on wildlife management.  Unfortunately there are about 6 million of these urban outdoor experts in the state.