Anderson, Lehmkuhl, Linville Throw Hats In Ring For WDFW Commission Chair, Vice Chair Roles

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will soon have a new chair and vice chair.

During this morning’s meeting, Barbara Baker told fellow members that she had opted not to run again to head up the citizen panel overseeing WDFW policy, or be its new vice chair either.

The Olympia resident, attorney and former chief clerk of the state House of Representatives termed it a “healthy decision” and a “good management tool to change leadership every so often, and I’ve done it for a very long time.”

Elected in March 2022, Baker’s term at the top has been marked by a series of controversial decisions – putting the spring bear hunt into hibernation, failing to downlist wolves like WDFW biologists and managers had recommended – rancor and divisiveness, as well as fallout from public disclosure requests that showed she wasn’t in favor of recruiting Washingtonians into fishing and hunting and, according to Sportsmen’s Alliance, actively sought to delete public records.

Things culminated in a fiery meeting in late June, and Baker said telling the Governor’s Office earlier this month that she wasn’t going to run again made her feel “very comfortable” that she wouldn’t have to try to control meetings when they got tense.

So who wants to step into the hot seat as well as be the vice chair?

Baker took nominations for a final vote next month, and Commissioner Jim Anderson of Buckley expressed interest in being the new chief head honcho, and former vice chair Molly Linville of lower Moses Coulee and Commissioner John Lehmkuhl of Wenatchee put their names into the hat to be the second in charge.

The commission has been without a vice chair since early this year when Governor Bob Ferguson rescinded former Governor Jay Inslee’s last-days reappointment of Tim Ragen of Anacortes. Chair and vice chair elections are typically, though not always, held at the start of odd years.

While nominations remain open until an expected vote August 15 in Bellingham, between Baker stepping down and the five other members – Victor Garcia of Anacortes, Woody Myers of Spokane, Steve Parker of Yakima, Melanie Rowland of Twisp and Lorna Smith of Port Townsend – not stepping forward, this also marks a potential shift in the thrust of the commission, seen in recent years as having more of a preservationist bent.

Anderson touched on that during his virtual stump speech.

“I think we need to embrace the mandate in its entirety, all parts of it, not cherry pick it one way or another to meet our values, but acknowledge that is the board guidance we’ve gotten through the legislature and confirm that as our modus operandi,” he stated.

The mandate, in part, is for the commission and WDFW to “preserve, protect, perpetuate, and manage the wildlife and food fish, game fish, and shellfish in state waters and offshore waters” and the commission in particular to “attempt to maximize the public recreational game fishing and hunting opportunities of all citizens.”

Recent years have seen some commissioners, driven by fears of climate change, struggling fish and wildlife populations, shrinking habitat and human population growth, to focus more on the “preserve” part of the remit.

Anderson said he would bring his experience, capacity, skills and management approach from his years on the job – he retired after a long stint as the executive director of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

Speaking of the tribes, he said it was important to have a good working relationship with both treaty and non-treaty tribes.

“Some issues have come forward these past few years where we’ve gotten sideways, and I think we need to figure out a way that we don’t let that happen,” he said, a likely reference to the draft Conservation Policy of Baker and others that saw several tribes demand consultation on and ultimately shut the policy down.

Anderson said the commission needed to avoid self-inflicted wounds, and he also appeared to anticipate that his heritage as an outdoorsman might be used against his candidacy.

“I want to make it really clear that I see, as a foundational point, that I value and support conservation. I think one of the criticisms that people might … think, because I come from a fishing and hunting perspective that conservation is not my north star, and I think that’s not accurate at all. I value it entirely, and I think the department does, as well as this commission. Conservation doesn’t lend itself to slogans and manifestos or what have you,” Anderson said.

“Conservation really needs to be a practice that we all embrace. And it’s different for different people, different places and points. Whether it’s preserving critical habitat, species, whether it’s protecting from overuse, or putting in certain restrictions, whether it’s perpetuating species, or through translocation or supplementation, or management of land and water and fish resources – it means all those things. And it has to be for the basis so that these fish and wildlife are there as well in perpetuity but also to be able to be used and benefit all of us. I think there’s room in the conservation tent for many; it shouldn’t be exclusive. In fact, that would be bad,” Anderson stated.

Anderson was appointed to the commission in July 2019. He heads up the Fish Committee.

In making his case briefly, Lehmkuhl said that as vice chair he’d make a good backup to the commission chair and said that he also wanted to remain on the Executive Committee to work on communications issues with the public and solving fundamental issues with the commission.

Lehmkuhl was appointed to the commission in January 2022.

Linville pointed out she’d already served as vice chair – she’d kept her old placard from those days, and said it would save WDFW the money of ordering a new one – and said she’d be a sergeant at arms, per se, for the chair. She said ensuring a “fair and level playing field” for commissioners and speakers was important for her. She also served as the commission’s acting chair for several meetings.

Asked by Commissioner Lorna Smith of Port Townsend about making the time commitment – Linville operates a ranch with her husband as her main job; she’s the only non-retired commissioner – Linville called it a fair question and said that she was a work horse and there wouldn’t be a steep learning curve for her.

Asked the same question, Anderson said electing him chair would bring a big increase in responsibility and he was committed to taking whatever time was needed to make it work. Lehmkuhl replied it was something he could do too.

Linville was appointed to the commission in July 2019 and served until early 2025 before being reappointed a couple months ago.