SAF Asks for Records Between Former Governor, WDFW Regarding Bears, Wolves, Cougars, and ‘Conservation Policy’

On June 3, the Sportsmen’s Alliance submitted four public records requests to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) asking for records related to communications between the offices of WDFW Director Kelly Susewind and former Governor Jay Inslee. The requests specifically ask for communications regarding black bear and cougar hunting and management, gray wolf status and management, and the WDFW Commission’s proposed ‘conservation policy.’

The Sportsmen’s Alliance finally received the remainder of the responsive documents from our September 2023 public records request to WDFW. That request, which asked for communications among WDFW Commissioners regarding spring black bear hunting in Washington, took over 600 days to complete, and we received less than 13 percent of the documents WDFW originally claimed were responsive. Because of the delay by WDFW in producing the documents, the Sportsmen’s Alliance sued the department in January 2025. That case is still ongoing.

However, the swath of misconduct, incompetence, and secrecy uncovered via litigation discovery and our previous records request has made one thing clear: the corruption in Washington runs deep. So, we petitioned Governor Bob Ferguson to remove WDFW Commissioners Barbara Baker, Lorna Smith, Melanie Rowland, and John Lehmkuhl from their posts. Now, we’re asking WDFW to make available communications between Director Susewind and former Governor Inslee regarding bears, cougars, wolves, and the proposed ‘conservation policy.’ Certainly, these WDFW Commissioners appointed by Governor Inslee have shown their total disregard for their mandate as commissioners and multiple Washington laws. The Sportsmen’s Alliance suspects this is more than a coincidence.

“The transparency of government agencies is a cornerstone of American government, and many states, including Washington, have enshrined public access to government records via statute,” said Michael Jean, litigation counsel for the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation. “As a result of our previous records request and litigation discovery, we have major concerns that the corruption of the Fish and Wildlife Commission runs deeper than we initially suspected. These new records requests will bring to light any misconduct with respect to wildlife management at Washington’s highest level of government. Washington sportsmen deserve to know just how bad things are.”

Sportsmen – especially those in Washington – have been bullied long enough by animal extremists, and the Sportsmen’s Alliance will not allow it to happen any longer. Join us or donate to the Sportsmen’s Legal Defense Fund to help stand up against the relentless assault on our values and lifestyle by animal extremists. Present and future generations are depending on your willingness to fight to protect the future of hunting, fishing, and trapping.

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. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.