Anderson Unanimously Voted In As New WA Fish and Wildlife Commission Chair, Lehmkuhl Vice

Congrats to Jim Anderson, unanimously voted in as the new chair of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission this morning.

“We need to look forward for improvement. We have work to do, that’s for sure,” he said, pointing to strategic direction, commission process, tribal comanagement and more.

While a hunter and angler, he said that there’s room in the conservation tent for everyone.

Anderson was appointed to the commission in July 2019. He heads up the Fish Committee. He retired after a long stint as the executive director of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

“Everyone needs to dig in and work harder,” Anderson urged fellow commissioners.

The commission also elected John Lehmkuhl on a 5-4 vote, beating out Molly Linville. Both were termed well-qualified by fellow members, but it came down to former chair Barbara Baker, who said for her it was “the need for balance” and pointed to Lehmkuhl bringing in an author of the North America Model of Wildlife Management for a presentation as well as reviewing wildlife science.

Lehmkuhl also referenced conservation’s big tent and said that while some see the commission and WDFW’s mandates as conflicting, he said conservation encompassed preservation, restoration, conservation biology, hunting, fishing and commercial fishing.

“Despite ups and downs, I believe we can find middle ground in biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of fish and wildlife for human use,” Lehmkuhl said.

This morning’s vote was spurred by Governor Bob Ferguson’s removal and replacement of former Vice Chair Tim Ragen early this year and an embattled Baker’s early summer announcement that she would not be running for another term heading up the citizen panel that oversees WDFW policies and hires and fires its director. Anderson, Linville and Lehmkuhl were the only members to throw their hats in the ring.

The vice chair decision was always going to be the tight one as commission membership has been tipped back from the preservationist bent built by former Governor Jay Inslee. In the background is a petition from Sportsmen’s Alliance to remove Baker, Lehmkuhl and Commissioners Melanie Rowland and Lorna Smith, the organizations lawsuit that’s the subject of a summary judgment hearing this morning in Olympia, and a letter from Director Kelly Susewind to the Governor’s Office to investigate commissioner conduct unveiled by public records requests.

Commissioner Steven Parker supported Linville, arguing she possessed the “experience and background, steadiness and demeanor” that gave her the edge over Lehmkuhl.

Commissioner Woody Meyers said that Anderson and Linville were “in synch” while there was a “creative tension” between Anderson and Lehmkuhl that tipped his vote.

Rowland said Linville had a “demanding job” already, single-handedly running a ranch, and that meant the vice chair position would be “just background” for her.

In her stump speech, Linville took a moment to say she gets disappointed when she sees that she’s not considered “part of the conservation community.”

A former federal and private wildlife biologist, she termed conservation “my number one priority above all things. I’ve demonstrated that very clearly on my ranch. I’ve increased biodiversity.”

After years of fireworks under the former commission leadership, today marks a reset. Best of luck all.