Washington wildlife commission toils to get through its slate amid pointed input from public

LEWISTON – Bogged down in the minutiae of its Game Management Plan revision process, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission labored to advance through its agenda and had to jettison some items during its meeting at Clarkston on Friday.

It was also delayed by lengthy in-person and online public comment periods during which commissioners heard a wide range of viewpoints, many of which were critical of their work.

The commission was in Clarkston for three days of proceedings that kicked off with committee meetings Thursday, a full commission meeting Friday and another commission session Saturday morning.

During Friday’s public comment period, several hunters offered sharply critical testimony over the commission’s recent decision to end the state’s limited entry spring black bear hunting season and told commissioners they don’t trust their motives. Local county commissioners said the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife doesn’t adequately care for its wildlife areas and shouldn’t seek to purchase additional property in southeastern Washington. Ranchers and hunters said the agency and commission need to better manage predators for the benefit of deer and elk herds and to reduce pressure on livestock.

Several commenters urged the commission either to end recreational beaver trapping or to more holistically view the animals that can improve riparian habitats for a wide range of species but also bedevil landowners and at times cause problems for migrating salmon and steelhead.

The department is evaluating the possible purchase of 285 acres adjacent to Wooten Wildlife Area south of Pomeroy. Justin Dixon, a Garfield County Commissioner, said the department isn’t taking care of land it already owns and the commission has refused to help struggling elk in the Blue Mountains by extending mountain lion seasons.

“You’ve done nothing to be our partner and I don’t know why you should expect us to be your partners and neighbors as we move forward.”

Brian Shinn, of the Asotin County Commission, asked commissioners to help anglers in southeastern Washington by delaying the start of spring chinook fishing season in the lower Columbia River.

“If we could simply delay the fishing seasons for a week, we would get much more of the fish back up here where they begin their life.”

Shinn said he is troubled by many of the commission’s recent actions, including its decision to end recreational hunting of black bears during the spring.

“The membership of the commission seems to be centered more and more around wildlife advocates, and against the hunters and fishers who really were responsible for getting this whole thing going in the beginning. I can’t say that strongly enough.”

Rancher and former Fish and Wildlife commissioner Jay Holzmiller, of Asotin, lamented the state of the Blue Mountain elk herd. He said hunters from all over Washington used to flock there to pursue its big bulls.

“It used to be a stream of traffic. We always joked, you could tell when the lights changed in Seattle by the cars coming through Asotin. That ship has sailed.”

He said ranchers don’t trust the commission to manage wolves in a way that works for livestock owners and that they will take matters into their own hands if need be.

“I’m not going to give up my ranch of 100-plus years just because you guys think you want to raise some wolves. If we can get along, great. We’re never gonna take wolves off the landscape. But I don’t think it’s right for you guys to want to take ranchers off the landscape, either.”

Several people called out Commissioner Melanie Rowland, of Twisp, for communicating with someone outside the commission during the Nov. 18 meeting and said it violated the commission’s public comment policy and possibly state open meeting law. Rowland attended that meeting remotely and at one point said someone listening to the proceedings communicated with her.

Rowland, an attorney, said Friday it was a harmless error but apologized, saying she was not aware it violated commission policy.

Even with a trimmed down list of discussion topics, the nine-person panel ran more than an hour behind schedule at times. The process bogged down almost immediately when a report from Thursday’s Wildlife Committee that was scheduled to take just a few minutes lasted more than an hour. The elongated discussion was illustrative of what many see as a high-stakes process that could shape hunting in the Evergreen State for years to come.

Wildlife committee chairperson Kim Thornburn, of Spokane, asked fellow commissions to give an informal “head nod” to the committee’s decision to give draft approval of most of the 19 principles that will guide revision of the plan and its decision to set some of them aside for editing. Commissioner Tim Ragen, of Anacortes, said he was uncomfortable moving forward and sought a deeper dive into the principles.

“Without knowing where we’re going, without seeing the bigger picture, without having more clarity about each principle and what it says, I can’t just simply say, ‘Yeah, that’s fine,’ ” he said.

Other commissioners said the head nod just allows the process to move forward and that all of the principles would eventually be subject to full commission review. Much of the commission’s more detail-oriented work is done at the committee level before being elevated for final approval.

“If we are going to get through the entire Game Management Plan, we’re going to have to possibly put more faith in the committee structure of this commission than we have in the past,” said chairperson Barbara Baker, of Olympia.

To give themselves more time to work on the plan, commissioners voted to give department director Kelly Susewind authority to make minor adjustments to hunting seasons during meetings in March and April.

Commissioners also approved a seashore development rule, and heard reports on the agency’s land acquisition process, beaver management and a predator and prey study between it and University of Washington researchers. It delayed until a later meeting a hearing and decision on Columbian white-tail deer management and rule governing records fishing guides must keep.