GC commission supports ousting two WDFW panel members

EPHRATA — Grant County’s three commissioners have signed a draft letter urging Gov. Bob Ferguson to remove two members of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission for alleged improprieties.

Commissioners Kevin Burgess, Cindy Carter, and Rob Jones gave their approval on Tuesday for the recommendation that Ferguson and state Attorney General Nick Brown dismiss Melanie Rowland of Okanogan County and Lorna Smith of Jefferson County from their appointed positions on the nine-member Fish and Wildlife Commission. 

Grant County is among 15 eastern Washington counties whose commissioners have been asked to support dismissal of Rowland and Smith from the state panel, which establishes policies to preserve, protect, and perpetuate fish, wildlife, and ecosystems while providing sustainable fish and wildlife.

There have been complaints that some commission members have ignored concerns or failed to support the interests of hunting and fishing enthusiasts and rural landowners, particularly in eastern Washington, and have engaged inappropriately with special-interest conservation advocates.  

The Aug. 10 letter was initiated by the Eastern Washington Council of Governments, chaired by Whitman County commissioner Art Swannack and vice chair Mark Burrows, a Stevens County commissioner.

Other listed counties include Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Douglas, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Kittitas, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Stevens, Walla Walla, and Whitman counties. It was not immediately clear on Thursday whether all commissioners in those counties were supportive of the proposal.

In the letter, it’s alleged that Smith and Rowland, “ … have violated Washington laws and policies.” 

The letter cites findings of a December 2024 report issued by The William D. Ruckelshaus Center, a Northwest public policy think tank, that allegedly identified “significant dysfunction within the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Commission …”.

The letter also refers to correspondence between the commission and “outside special interest groups” that state Fish and Wildlife director Kelly Susewind provided in May 2025 to a legal consultant, Thomas R. Knoll Jr., for review.  Knoll reportedly told Susewind that “Commissioners Rowland and Smith present serious risks to WDFW in terms of failure to fully abide by (governing rules) ….”

Smith, in turn, has filed a federal lawsuit against Susewind and WDFW deputy director Amy Windrope. Smith alleges she is facing retaliation for voicing her First Amendment-protected viewpoints. Other plaintiffs are Washington Wildlife First and founder/board president Claire Loebs Davis. Susewind and Windrope have filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, saying it lacks merit. Responses from both sides are due next month in the U.S. District Court of Western Washington.

A third inquiry, by Transformative Workplace Investigations, was released last month. The EWCOG letter claims that report shows Rowland and Smith did not consistently comply with the state’s Public Records Act and there was a “’significant breakdown in trust’ between certain commissioners and department administrators.”

“The Eastern Washington Council of Governments (EWCOG) believes the report should have stated the obvious: the identified commissioners should be removed … immediately,” the letter states. 

Asked for comment Thursday afternoon, Samantha Montgomery, communications and public engagement director for state Fish and Wildlife, said the department had not received a copy of the EWCOG letter. Montgomery said the department did receive the final Transformative Workplace Investigations report from Ferguson’s office on Tuesday, July 28.

“WDFW is reviewing the report and awaiting further information from the governor’s office,” she said. 

Separately, Mike Faulk, deputy communications director for the state Attorney General’s Office, said the office was aware of “news coverage” about the EWCOG letter, but could not confirm whether it had been received.

“But more to the point: the Attorney General’s Office has no statutory authority to remove officials from governor-appointed boards and commissions,” said Faulk.

The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request from GCJ.news for comment.

Rowland, who lives in Twisp, is a retired environmental attorney who once served as general counsel for the Northwest Regional Office of the federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Smith, a resident of rural Jefferson County, is a retired executive director of Western Wildlife Outreach and former environmental supervisor for Snohomish County. Both are completing six-year terms on the state Fish and Wildlife Commission that expire Dec. 31.

By law, the commission must include three members from west of the Cascade Mountains, three members from east of the Cascades, and three “at-large” members, but no two commissioners may reside in the same county. They are appointed by the governor subject to state Senate confirmation. In addition to regular commission meetings, members serve on subcommittees with state Fish and Wildlife staff with in-depth focus on specific issues.