The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) doesn’t want to hear the public’s opinions on issues concerning wildlife and hunting, and what’s even more unbelievable is that apparently, FWC only wants to recruit ethnic minorities and young people to enjoy the outdoors. Those two claims were unearthed by the Sportsmen’s Alliance as part of an ongoing public records review and related lawsuit revealing how the commission conducts business.

In a March 11, 2022, email Commissioner John Lehmkuhl tells commissioners Tim Ragen, Melanie Rowland and Lorna Smith that he “never wants to hear another public comment on spring bear hunting again. I just had to say this, sorry.”

In a video breakdown of the email, Sportsmen’s Alliance Senior Vice President Todd Adkins summarizes the culture of the commission and their disregard for Washington citizens: “The public is an impediment to what they’re trying to get done and listening to the public is not really important to them, in fact they find it ‘stupefying, debilitating and hardening.’”

Perhaps even more outlandish, in a Jan. 23, 2023, email, FWC Chair Barbara Baker makes her disdain for the state’s hunters and anglers unequivocally known. “I do not support recruitment of any current users of our natural resources, excluding ethnic, [sic] minorities and youngsters,” she wrote in an email to Commissioner John Lehmkuhl. “The only people that I believe we should be recruiting are young people and ethnic minorities.”

Adkins’ commentary adds, “Commissioner Baker you are the chair. You represent all Washingtonians. This is not just inappropriate, it is against several of your mandates,” he said in the video.

The Sportsmen’s Alliance will continue to expose emails and text messages concerning the inner workings of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission that have come from a lawsuit forcing the state to turn over requested communications. Collusion, corruption, and disregard for legal mandates and state law are all documented on a single page of the Sportsmen’s Alliance website, including the petition and all related evidence submitted to Washington Governor Ferguson that requests the removal of commissioners Barbara Baker, Melanie Rowland, Lorna Smith and John Lehmkuhl.

“What we’ve found already provides more than enough justification for Governor Ferguson to remove these commissioners, but this is just the tip of the iceberg,” promised Adkins. “We remain very hopeful that this expanding evidence will be enough for the Gov. to make the right decision.”

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.