Idaho Fish Report

OLYMPIA - Gov. Jay Inslee has reappointed the chair of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission to a six-year term and has appointed the executive director of the Purse Seine Vessel Owners Association to a vacant position.

The commission is a nine-member citizen panel that sets policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). Members are appointed by the governor to six-year terms and are subject to state Senate confirmation. Three members must reside in Eastern Washington, three in Western Washington, and three may live anywhere in the state. No two members may live in the same county.

The governor reappointed the commission chair, Miranda Wecker of Naselle, to the Western Washington position she has held since 2005, for a term that runs through Dec. 31, 2018. Wecker, who has served as chair since 2008, is the director of the Marine Program at the University of Washington Olympic Natural Resources Center.

Inslee also appointed Robert Kehoe of Seattle to a vacant at-large position for a term that runs through Dec. 31, 2014. Kehoe, an attorney, joined the Purse Seine Vessel Owners Association as general counsel in 1997 and became executive director in 2009. He has served as a commercial fishing industry representative on the Pacific Salmon Commission since 2001.

"Miranda Wecker has done an excellent job in leading the commission's work on several challenging fish and wildlife policy issues, and I am very pleased that she is willing to serve another term," Inslee said. "Bob Kehoe is a well-respected leader in the commercial fishing industry and will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the commission's deliberations."

The commission's next meeting is scheduled Aug. 2-3 in Olympia. For more information on the commission, visit http://wdfw.wa.gov/commission/.