Commission to decide on budget and legislative requests, land transactions at August meeting

OLYMPIA – The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will make decisions on several land transactions and upcoming budget and legislative requests for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) at a virtual meeting Aug. 4-6.

The Commission begins work at 9 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 4, with meetings of its Habitat and Fish Committees. Topics there include discussions on shoreline armoring, grazing permits, coastal steelhead, and Willapa Bay Salmon Management Policy.

The full commission meets beginning at 8 a.m. Friday, where they will consider several land transactions. Proposed land acquisitions include:

• Sixty acres of waterfowl and wetland habitat as part of the Quincy Lakes Wildlife Area in Grant County.
• Two properties totaling about 221 acres on the Methow Wildlife Area in Okanogan County that are within a crucial mule deer migration corridor and will contribute to conservation of critical habitats and multiple species, including the western gray squirrel, fisher, and gray wolf.
• A 1,070-acre property and 17-acre conservation easement in the Wenas Wildlife Area in Yakima County that contains imperiled shrubsteppe habitat and a huge diversity of bird species – 25 percent of all bird species in the Lower 48 states have been identified in the watershed.

All of the proposed fee title land acquisitions will also provide outdoor recreation opportunities such as bird and wildlife viewing, fishing, and hunting.

The Commission will then decide whether to approve proposed requests for legislation from WDFW to be considered by the Washington State Legislature during its 2023 session in the spring. The Commission will also decide on proposed agency capital and operating budget requests for the 2023-25 biennium.

The Commission will then consider recommendation from WDFW staff and decide if rulemaking should proceed on a petition intended to change Washington's salvage rule to align with Idaho's. Idaho's rule allows most species of wildlife to be salvaged, and allows the public to euthanize injured wildlife.

Finally on Friday, the Commission will receive a briefing on the final version of the 10-year Recreation Strategy for WDFW-managed lands.

The Commission will take open public input on both Friday and Saturday morning. All members of the public are invited to share their perspective and participate in WDFW public feedback opportunities regardless of race, color, sex, age, national origin, language proficiency, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, veteran status, or basis of disability. Members of the public interested in providing verbal public comment can pre-register on WDFW’s website.

This meeting will be held via Zoom; more information and an agenda for the meeting -- as well as recordings and information about past meetings -- can be found on the Commission’s webpage.

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission is a panel appointed by the governor that sets policy for the WDFW. WDFW works to preserve, protect and perpetuate fish, wildlife and ecosystems while providing sustainable fish and wildlife recreational and commercial opportunities.