Watching Our Water Ways

New members appointed to Fish and Wildlife Commission

Gov. Chris Gregoire has appointed three new members of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission. They are:

David Jennings of Olympia, who has been active in fish and wildlife issues for nearly 20 years, according to the Governor’s Office;
Rollie Schmitten of Lake Chelan, former director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and former director of the National Marine Fisheries Service; and
Brad Smith, dean of Huxley College of Environmental Studies at Western Washington University in Bellingham.

The three will serve terms that end in December 2014. The commission oversees the Department of Fish and Wildlife, which manages natural resources and regulates hunting and fishing seasons.

Schmitten replaces Jerry Gutzwiler, a Wenatchee orchardist; Smith replaces Will Roehl, a Bellingham attorney; and Jennings replaces Shirley Solomon of Mount Vernon, chairwoman of the Skagit Watershed Council.

More information about the three as well as background on the ongoing commission members:

Jennings attended the University of Georgia, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in forest resources. He also earned a master’s degree in public health from the University of Oklahoma.
Jennings works at the Washington State Department of Health in the division of environmental health. He was also the water protection program manager at DOH. Jennings is the past president of the Gifford Pinchot Task Force and the Black Hills Audubon Society. In 2006, the Black Hills Audubon Society named him conservationist of the year.

Schmitten attended Washington State University, where he earned a degree in forest management with an emphasis on fish and wildlife. Schmitten is a former Cashmere City councilman, Chelan County Port commissioner and state representative. He was appointed the director of the Washington State Department of Fisheries. He also served as the director of the Northwest Region for National Marine Fisheries Service before being named national director of NMFS. In 1999, Schmitten was promoted to NOAA Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Affairs, working directly under the U.S. Department of Commerce. In that role, Schmitten participated in negotiations of international agreements on several environmental issues.

Smith, a resident of Bellingham, is dean of the Huxley College of Environmental Studies at Western Washington University. Prior to that appointment, Smith served as the first director of the Office of Environmental Education for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Smith, who has extensive international experience on environmental issues, serves on the International Scholars Program for the U.S. Information Agency. He was a Fulbright Scholar to Great Britain and worked as a research fellow for Environment Canada and the Canadian Fish and Wildlife Service.

Ongoing commission members:

Chair: Miranda Wecker, Naselle
Occupation: Director of the Marine Program, UW Olympic Natural Resources Center

Vice Chair: Gary Douvia, Kettle Falls
Occupation: Financial consultant

Kenneth Chew, Ph.D., Seattle
Occupation: Retired, Professor of fisheries at the University of Washington

Conrad Mahnken, Ph.D., Bainbridge Island
Occupation: Retired, fisheries biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service

George Orr, Spokane
Occupation: Retired firefighter, former state legislator

Chuck Perry, Moses Lake
Occupation: Consultant, rangeland/grazing sustainability

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