Hot off the Press-Todays Commission Report: Steelheader.net- Steelhead, Salmon and trout fishing

Phone: 360-902-2267
commission@dfw.wa.gov

http://wdfw.wa.gov/com/comintro.htm

Commission members are hand picked by the Governor.

Commission Members:

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Will Roehl, Chair ~ Voted Against proposal

Will Roehl was first appointed to the Commission in July 1997 and was reappointed to a six-year term in January 2003. Roehl served as vice chair from January 2001 until he was elected chair in January 2003. He is an attorney with a commercial practice in Bellingham. He and a brother own a customs brokerage business that facilitates importation/ exportation of chemical, petroleum, fish and forest products. He is co-owner of a business based in Eugene, Oregon. He attended Whitman College (B.A. Economics) and the University of Puget Sound School of Law. He held elective office in Whatcom County, including service on a 1978 Board of Freeholders and 11 years as a member of the Whatcom Co. Council. He has served on boards of numerous non-profit organizations and devoted time to various civic efforts. He is committed to restoring Washington's salmon runs while avoiding conflicts between commercial and recreational fishers. Roehl and his wife Kelli Linville live in Bellingham. (Roehl's current term expires in December 2008.)

Ron Ozment, Vice-Chair ~ Voted Against proposal

Ron Ozment was appointed to the Commission in September 2001 to serve a six-year term and was elected vice chair in January 2003. He is a dairy producer and cattle breeder who owns and operates the 200-acre Riviera Jersey Farm north of Cathlamet. Ozment served as Wahkiakum County Commissioner from 1989 through 2000 and, while holding that office, was the County's representative on the Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board, the Water Resource Inventory Areas 25/26 Board, the Southwest Clean Air Agency, and the Cowlitz/ Wahkiakum Council of Governments. He also is a former member and chair of the Wahkiakum County Planning Commission and a former member of the U.S. Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Committee and the U.S. Farm Home Administration's (now the Rural Development Administration) Agricultural and Housing Loan Eligibility Committee serving Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, Clark, and Skamania counties. Ozment and his wife Anne live in Cathlamet. They have three children and six grandchildren. (Ozment's current term expires in December 2006.)

Russ Cahill ~ Voted For proposal

Russ Cahill was appointed to the Commission in April 1998 to fill a five-year vacancy and in December 1999 he was reassigned to fill a one-year vacancy. He was reappointed to a six-year term in September 2001. He served as vice chairman from January 1999 until he was elected chair in January 2001 for a two year term. He retired in 1997 after 40 years of work, mostly in the fields of natural resources, parks, and law enforcement. He has been a trustee and board chairman of the Washington Nature Conservancy and a trustee of the National Parks and Conservation Association. He has served on the boards of several Washington State and local conservation organizations. An avid fisherman, hiker, and bird watcher, he has walked, cross-country skied, and paddled over most of the state. Cahill and his wife Narda Pierce live in Olympia. He has three children and four grandchildren. (Cahill's current term expires in December 2006.)

John A. Hunter IV ~ Trying to find voting record for John.

John was appointed to the Commission in July 2003 to serve a six-year term. John brings both private industry and public service experience to the Commission. In the private sector, John’s BA in Economics and Business led to a thirty plus year career in sales/marketing and distribution management focused on the post harvest needs of the tree fruit industry in the Pacific Northwest. During his past fifteen years public service involvement, John has served as Councilman and Mayor of the City of Cashmere, and as Chelan County Commissioner. John has served as a volunteer and on the board of directors of numerous private and public entities involved with improving our social, economic, and environmental living conditions in Washington. John is committed to a balanced approach in the maintenance and enhancement of our natural resources for the enjoyment and appreciation of all Washingtonians. John and his wife, Renee, have an empty nest as their two children and two foster daughters now make their homes in various locations within Washington State. (Hunter’s current term expires in December 2008.)

Lisa Pelly ~ Voted For Proposal

Lisa Pelly was appointed to the Commission in January 1994 to serve a five-year term. She served as vice chair from January 1996 to January 1997. She served as chair from January 1997 to January 1999, the first woman to serve in that position. She was reappointed to a six-year term in February 1999. A lifelong resident of Washington, she has a deep and passionate commitment to the state and the protection of its natural resources. She serves on the board of directors for Washington Conservation Voters, Farming and the Environment and the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition and is the founder and past president of the Northwest Women Flyfishers. She enjoys spending time outdoors, hiking and fishing. Pelly lives on Bainbridge Island. (Pelly's current term expires in December 2004).

Fred Shiosaki ~ Trying to find voting record for Fred.

Fred Shiosaki was appointed to the Commission in February 1999 to serve a six-year term. He was a member of the all Japanese-American 442nd Infantry Regiment. He graduated from Gonzaga University in Chemistry and attended the University of Washington Graduate School. After working as the Spokane City Chemist, he set up the Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority and served as its Director and Control Officer for 11 years. In 1978, he was hired to manage the Environmental Affairs
Department for the Washington Water Power Company and retired from there in 1989. For more than eight years he was a member of the Washington Ecological Commission and served as its chair for seven years. His professional applications have been the Air Pollution Control Association and the Northwest Electric Light and Power Association. He is a member of the Exchange Club of Downtown Spokane, Trout Unlimited, Disabled American Veterans, and the Inland Empire Fly Fishing Club. He has been a flyfisher for more than 30 years and is involved in his clubs' educational and conservation programs. In the recent past, he trained springer spaniels and hunted birds. Shiosaki and his wife Lily live in Spokane. They have a son, Michael and daughter, Nancy. (Shiosaki's current term expires in December 2004.)

Bob Tuck ~ Voted For Proposal

Bob Tuck was appointed to the Commission in April 1998 to fill a two-year vacancy and reappointed to a six-year term in September 2001. He is a private consultant, providing technical and program assistance on a variety of fisheries, habitat, and water activities and projects in Washington and Oregon. He also provides technical coordination and assistance for an environmental education program involving numerous school districts in Central Washington. Tuck and his wife Lynn live in Selah. (Tuck's current term expires in December 2006.)

R.P. "Van" Van Gytenbeek ~ Voted For Proposal

Van Van Gytenbeek was appointed to the Commission in February 1999 to serve a six- year term. He is the publisher of Fly Fishing in Salt Waters magazine in Seattle. He has more than 30 years of management experience in the private sector, is a retired artillery captain, and has authored two books on trout and streamside conservation. He is the former executive director of Trout Unlimited and has held various board or board memberships in a number of recreational organizations, including the International Fly Fishers Federation, American Museum of Fly Fishing, the American League of Anglers, and the Trout and Salmon Foundation. Van Gytenbeek and his wife Elizabeth live in Seattle. They have three children and one grandchild. (Van Gytenbeek's current term expires in December 2004.)

Mandatory statewide catch and release of wild steelhead never went through the rule change process, sport fisherman were blind sided. Following is the 2004 rule change proposals:

http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/proposals/2004proposals.pdf

This rule change was essentially snuck in, the public never had the opportunity to review or address the rule change.

This is a feel good policy that has no scientific data to back it up. The rule change unfairly targets sport fisherman while continuing to allow tribal and commercial fisherman to kill wild steelhead statewide.

A number of sport fishing groups were working to push this through and support this policy. I have identified two groups so far.

· Wild Steelhead Coalition

· Trout Unlimited

I urge everyone to speak up regarding this issue and work towards getting this rule change overturned.