The fight for government transparency and accountability will continue in higher court

Today, August 15, the Thurston County Superior Court erroneously found that the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) did not violate Washington’s Public Records Act (PRA) by withholding thousands of public records from the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation (SAF) for nearly two years. SAF will promptly appeal the decision to the Washington State Court of Appeals.

“Today’s decision highlights just how broken the government is in Washington. Not only have we thoroughly demonstrated that WDFW unlawfully withheld public records from us, but we also uncovered countless examples of government misconduct, collusion, and secrecy,” said Dr. Todd Adkins, Senior Vice President at the Sportsmen’s Alliance. “The decision is surprising – even for Washington. But we look forward to appealing this decision, and we will be happy to visit the Washington Supreme Court again, if needed. This case is far from over.”

SAF’s PRA request was submitted in September 2023 in response to the commission’s surprise 2022 vote to cancel spring bear hunting. WDFW took over 600 days to ‘complete’ the request, and we received less than 13 percent of the documents WDFW initially claimed were responsive. Because of WDFW’s delay in producing the documents, SAF sued in January 2025. Our appeal will maintain that the delay was unreasonable and unlawful.

“While WDFW’s misconduct in administering our PRA request was blatant, the court was distracted by the state’s persistent attempts to downplay and distort the mishandling of our PRA request,” said Michael Jean, Litigation Counsel for the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation. “Transparency is a cornerstone of American government, and today’s decision reaffirms our commitment to ensuring government agencies and officials do not deny access to public records.”

The swath of misconduct, incompetence, and secrecy uncovered via litigation discovery and our records request has made one thing clear: the corruption in Washington runs deep. So much so, we also had to petition Governor Bob Ferguson to remove WDFW Commissioners Barbara Baker, Lorna Smith, Melanie Rowland, and John Lehmkuhl from their posts. We’re hopeful that the appellate court will provide Gov. Ferguson with any remaining footing needed to act on that petition.

Sportsmen – especially 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.

About the Sportsmen’s Alliance: The Sportsmen’s Alliance and its supporting Foundation protect and defend America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. The organization accomplishes this mission through several distinct programs, including public education, advocacy, litigation and research. Stay connected to the Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.