OLYMPIA — In an unprecedented move, Gov. Christine Gregoire has fired four members of the state Fish and Wildlife Commission, the group responsible for setting state-wide fishing and hunting rules.
Dr. Pete Schroeder of Sequim, a marine mammal veterinarian whose expertise has been sought at national and international levels, was one of the members to get the proverbial ax.
“It just blows me away,” Schroeder told the Peninsula Daily News by phone Tuesday night.
According to a news release distributed Tuesday by the governor’s office, Schroeder — the first commissioner from the North Olympic Peninsula in more than a decade — is being replaced by Charles Perry of Moses Lake.
“Yeah, that’s right close to the Olympic Peninsula, isn’t it,” Schroeder said, his voice simultaneously tense and disappointed.
“I can’t believe it. Nobody on the commission can understand it and I can’t understand it.”
Appointed last summer
Schroeder was appointed to the nine-member commission last summer by then-Gov. Gary Locke and was to fill a position left open when former Commissioner Russ Cahill stepped down.
Schroeder’s term was scheduled to expire Dec. 31, 2006.
“I was very disappointed that Pete was released because I thought that he was an excellent member of the commission,” Will Roehl, one of the current commissioners who survived Gregoire’s housecleaning, said Tuesday night.
Roehl, former chair of the commission, said neither he nor current chair Ron Ozment were notified prior to the governor’s official word.
“I was taken by surprise,” he said. “I thought we had a really good mix on the commission.
“I’m sure the governor has appointed some really good people but I don’t know anything about them other than their names.”
Along with Perry replacing Schroeder, Jerry Gutzwiler of Wenatchee replaces John Hunter of Cashmere, Miranda Wecker of Naselle replaces Kenneth Chew of Seattle, and Shirley Solomon of Mount Vernon replaces Holly Ledgerwood of Pomeroy.
Commissioners are paid $100 a day plus expenses, and typically work two to three days each month.
No explanation
Gregoire gave no explanation for the drastic change, a move that empowers four inexperienced commissioners less than a month before an April 8-9 meeting at which statewide hunting rules will be decided.
The future of sport crabbing rules — an issue that has drawn heated debate around the Olympic Peninsula — is set to be shaped in May.
“These appointments represent my administration’s strong commitment to the sustainable use of our natural resources,” the governor stated in a news release.
But the question of how educated the incoming commissioners will be about current issues facing the policy-making body is pressing.
“At the very best it’s an awfully short period of time to orient these folks,” Ozment said.
“It puts the commission in a bit of a dilemma.”
He said he knows of no similar mass commission overhaul ever taking place.
Makah fishing connection?
When asked, Ozment added that he believes the move has nothing to do with the recent controversy over Makah tribal salmon fishing.
“There is so much speculation and rumor out there, no I don’t think so,” he said.
“As far as this Makah issue is concerned, people need to just settle down . . . stop the rumor-mongering and finger-pointing.”
Schroeder, 69, is a consultant to the Navy and NOAA Fisheries and is active in habitat restoration and conservation efforts in both Clallam and Jefferson counties.
He was the first commissioner from the North Olympic Peninsula since Dr. James M. Walton ended his service 11 years ago.
Killer whale specialist
Schroeder is best known for his work with killer whales and was the lead veterinarian during the 2002 rehabilitation of Springer, an orphaned orca calf rescued from Puget Sound, treated and released back to the wild.
He has also consulted Canadian officials about their orca work.
“I think the time I spent [on the commission] was extremely productive,” Schroeder said Tuesday.
“If it would have been down time or a tough time, [my dismissal] wouldn’t have been so tough to take.”
He found out about it last week for the first time and said he was never given a chance to comment or speak with the governor, who he met in person a couple of years ago while she was attorney general.
When Schroeder was appointed to the commission last year, Gregoire sent him a letter of congratulations, he said.
Ozment noted the lack of communication — the governor not seeking commission input before making her decision — is a concern.
“I wish it could have been done a little differently,” he said.
“It is the governor’s prerogative.”