Ferry County Woman Named To WA Fish And Wildlife Commission

UPDATED 8:40 A.M., JANUARY 14, 2025 AT BOTTOM – ITALICIZED SECTION

A Northeast Washington woman active in the regional Rotary Club has been named to the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, state records show.

Lynn Theresa O’Connor of Ferry County has very big boots to fill as she replaces Douglas County rancher Molly Linville, who was informed yesterday by the Governor’s Office she would not be reappointed to her Eastern Washington seat, a blow to sportsmen and a loss of some of the last remaining shreds of dignity to the citizen panel overseeing WDFW policies at a time when it’s widely seen as “dysfunctional.”

“I am excited to be on the commission, but I am so new that I plan to listen and learn for a while,” O’Connor said in an emailed statement early this afternoon. “I bring no agenda except a desire to serve in a group that listens to many different perspectives in the hope of creating sound, balanced policies.”

Her LinkedIn profile shows she has been active in the Rotary Club’s District 5080 – she’s the local public image chair – and a bio states she oversaw 57 clubs in Eastern Washington, Idaho and British Columbia as a district governor. She owned Colville Sign Company for over 19 years. Prior to that she was a state park aide and seasonal national park ranger in California and at Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area.

O’Connor is also on the board of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Association and in the early 2010s she was the president, vice president and a member of the board of the Kettle Range Conservation Group of Northeast Washington. She attended Illinois Wesleyan University in the late 1970s and early 1980s for a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

If O’Connor’s name rings a bell, it’s because she was attacked by a bear while hiking with her dogs in September on her and her husband’s 1,000-acre property south of WDFW’s Sherman Creek Wildlife Area above Lake Roosevelt.

The attack, O’Connor’s initial reaction to defend herself by punching the sow three times, the puncture wounds to her shoulder and head she suffered and which required hospital treatment and 18 staples, and her request of game wardens not to kill the offending bear were widely reported in the news.

She recounted the incident and bear conflict prevention measures in two WGIPPA videos.

Her bio points to “deep experience in steady leadership and conflict resolution” gained during the Covid pandemic and states she “remains dedicated to community service and navigating the complexities of community needs and projects.” It makes no mention of fish or fishing, but does note her husband’s side hunts on their land, which his family has owned for 100 years and formerly ran cattle on but currently leases pasture to producers.

O’Connor’s appointment by Governor Jay Inslee came within the last 150 hours of his third term, four years in which he has placed a number of controversial members on the commission as there’s been a wider push to “reform” state fish and wildlife management and agencies. The Governor’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for her commission application, but when it does, I’ll fold that in (see below).

Inslee yesterday also reappointed Commission Vice Chair Tim Ragen of Anacortes. Both Ragen and O’Connor are slated to serve through December 31, 2030. Commissioner Jim Anderson was left on the panel but without official reappointment.

ADDENDUM: 8:40 A.M., JANUARY 14, 2025

In her application to the Governor’s Office to join the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, Lynn O’Connor states she’s “had a long-standing interest in wildlife conservation in Washington State and California,” citing her work in state and national parks as well as “a variety of grassroots community organizations in eastern Washington.”

O’Connor says her family has “worked with the Ferry County Conservation District to protect the diversity of our land, and the Department of Natural Resources for fire mitigation. Multiple family members have been developing a forest plan in coordination with the Colville National Forest that includes mapping water, soils, habitats, flora, forest health, and recreational benefits.”

And she adds, “I have a very strong interest in protecting wildlife interests on public and private lands. My husband and I were members of a raptor rehabilitation organization. He was the veterinarian, and I was a public educator about raptors, and a small group of us worked on recovery, rehabilitation, and release of raptors (mostly). I truly value the diversity of eastern Washington, and I love living here. Our property butts up against the Colville National Forest, and is 5 miles north of the reservation boundary, living on the traditional lands (the north half) of the Colville Confederated Tribes. Through wildlife cameras on the property and personal observances, we delight in the richness of our wildlife populations. We’ve seen everything from whitetail and mule deer, moose, elk, bobcats, mountain lions, black bears, bald eagles, golden eagles, all the hawks and falcons, turkeys and turkey vultures that reside in our rich area, plus much of the small fauna that supports all life.”