A Fish And Wildlife Seat Up For Grabs, With High Stakes
Openings on the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission have sport fishing groups eyeing an opportunity to gain a voice while some environmental groups worry they’ll lose one. Two members are up for reappointment and another seat is vacant on the commission, which sets natural resource policies ranging from hunting and fishing rules to last year’s decision to remove gray wolves from the endangered list. Recreational anglers hope one of their longtime advocates, Liz Hamilton, can become one of the seven members of the commission, which they say has tilted too far toward commercial fishing interests. Hamilton runs the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association. She submitted a letter of interest to Oregon Gov. Kate Brown earlier this summer expressing her interest in joining the commission. It included endorsements from Sen. Ron Wyden and Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Kurt Schrader, along with several prominent figures from the sport fishing community. Environmental groups are supporting the reappointment of Greg Wolley, who they consider one of the commission’s strongest voice for conservation. He is also the first and only African-American member of the commission. Read the story here 10:14
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