A major battlefront in the war to bring commonsense wildlife management back to Washington state has hit a major turning point with the release of an internal investigation of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and its corrupt commission.
The long-awaited and often-delayed investigation by Transformative Workplace Investigations vindicates and substantiates evidence presented by the Sportsmen’s Alliance more than a year ago concerning troubling and potentially illegal activity by several members of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission. Based upon that evidence, the Sportsmen’s Alliance filed a petition with the governor’s office seeking the removal of four commissioners: Barbara Baker, Lorna Smith, Melanie Rowland, and John Lehmkul.
That petition and evidence put in to motion an internal investigation ordered by Governor Bob Ferguson.
Today that report was released to the public and substantiates our claims of collusion, corruption and illegal behaviors concerning violations of the Public Records Act and Open Public Meeting Act, as well as numerous issues regarding ethical behavior and conflicts of interest.
While the below summary findings state “substantiated in part” in the report, the mitigating factors cited involve intent; whereas ignorance of the law is no excuse, the commissioners’ intent does not matter. Laws were broken.
Key Findings at a Glance
- Public Records Act (PRA) Violations — SUBSTANTIATED: The report confirms commissioners routinely used personal devices for state business, failed to perform complete searches, and submitted inaccurate declarations. Crucially, the investigation highlights Commissioner Melanie Rowland’s direct admission that she intentionally refused to produce responsive records to the Sportsmen’s Alliance until she was “forced to.”
- Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) Violations — SUBSTANTIATED: The investigation verified that a core group of commissioners engaged in illegal “serial meetings” (daisy-chaining) outside of noticed public meetings to secretly align votes, draft motions, and shape state wildlife policy.
- Ethics & Off-the-Record Collusion — SUBSTANTIATED: The report confirms that commissioners engaged in dozens of undisclosed, private meetings with advocacy groups actively suing the department. This included direct communications with opposing counsel and coordinated attempts to influence commission business out of public view.
- Staff Mistreatment & Leadership Tension — SUBSTANTIATED: The investigation documented a severe breakdown in trust, marked by confrontational and aggressive behavior by certain commissioners toward professional agency staff and threats to agency leadership following requests for accountability.
“This report completely validates what sportsmen and women across Washington have known for years: rogue commissioners operated outside the law, hid their records, and coordinated policy with anti-hunting activists behind closed doors,” said Rob Sexton, Senior Vice President of Sportsmen’s Alliance. “The Governor now has the independent findings needed to take immediate corrective action.”
The Sportsmen’s Alliance legal team is actively evaluating the report’s impact on ongoing litigation against the department and commission.
The Sportsmen’s Alliance guarantees hunting, fishing, and trapping for the American sportsman now and forever. We’re there when sportsmen need us most. We are the only organization specifically created to protect the individual hunter, angler, and trapper – no matter the threat. We will never compromise when it comes to defending our way of life in the courts, in the legislatures, in the public square, and at the ballot box. We make this promise to the American sportsman: we will never give up and never give in while proudly securing our future against those seeking to destroy our values, beliefs, and traditions.
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