The Sportsmen's Alliance and Conservation Coalition of Washington have released the much-touted "Knoll Memo," the findings of an internal investigation by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, which fully support the claims of collusion and illegal behavior concerning the Open Public Meetings Act and Public Records Act by members of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission.
"This is a damning condemnation of commissioners Lorna Smith and Melanie Rowland," said Rob Sexton, Senior Vice President of the Sportsmen's Alliance. "While Smith and Rowland, and as this internal investigation shows, their animal-rights co-conspirator Claire Davis, try to brush the findings aside, there's no hiding from the truth we've exposed: collusion, corruption and violations of law have undoubtedly taken place."
On May 30, 2025, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife fulfilled its final installment of records due to the Sportsmen's Alliance from a September 2023 public records request concerning the communications of four state fish and wildlife commissioners, which came only after a lawsuit was filed against the department compelling the production of the records. Though the total number of records received was just a fraction of the 477,000 identified, the Sportsmen's Alliance was astounded at what they uncovered and immediately launched a webpage to highlight examples of the egregious violations.
While the Sportsmen's Alliance continued to dig through the tens of thousands of unearthed records, WDFW Director Kelly Susewind privately turned to Thomas Knoll, WDFW Criminal Justice Legal Liaison for Enforcement, to evaluate the evidence and provide a report of his conclusions.
After the Sportsmen's Alliance petition for removal of commissioners Barbara Baker, Lorna Smith, Melanie Rowland and John Lemkhul, and the internal investigation, Director Susewind formally requested Governor Ferguson to conduct an independent investigation of the claims, which began in June 2025.
The Knoll Memo itself was kept internal until a public records request by the Washington State Standard and subsequent story on Feb. 13, 2026, revealed portions of the memo.
The Sportsmen's Alliance and Conservation Coalition of Washington are now revealing the full text of the Knoll Memo so the public can read exactly what independent legal minds within WDFW found when reading the same evidence as the watchdog organizations.
After multiple extensions at taxpayers' expense, the independent investigation ordered by Gov. Ferguson is finally due April 6.
"Governor Ferguson has taken the first step to investigate the biases of his predecessor and can now begin to restore lawful management of our wildlife and enforce the transparency and accountability within Washington government that is outlined in law," said Sexton. "We look forward to reading the findings of the independent investigation, and we're optimistic it will come to similar conclusions."
Key Findings from the Knoll Memo
- Rowland fails to appreciate the importance of record retention and properly providing responsive records to WDFW concerning pending public record requests.
- Rowland purposely delayed providing the needed response.
- Rowland was recorded as stating she would not respond to the record request unless forced.
- The duty to respond is clearly outlined in statute and case law.
- It appears that the Commissioners may have been colluding with the special interest groups
- Claire Davis has a direct line of communication to those Commissioners that seem sympathetic to her causes.
- The record is replete with examples where Ragen, Rowland, and Smith used personal emails and devices to conduct business for the Commission.
- This continued to occur even after the Commissioners were instructed not to use such devices.
- It is not entirely clear that Rowland and/or Smith have been forthcoming
- This attitude regarding public records requests is simply inexcusable and flies in the face of the RCW 42.56 et seq.
- To Smith, the end justified the means
- I wonder in what other ways she has bent procedure and/or laws to fit her perception of justifiable conduct.
- There is no question in my mind that Commissioners Rowland and Smith present serious risks to WDFW