Fish and Wildlife Commission adopts revised rules of procedure

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission voted March 14, 2026, in Walla Walla to adopt a set of edits to its rules of procedure, a package staff and commissioners described as part of a continuous-improvement effort.

Deputy Director Amy Windrope presented the revisions, saying the document on the table highlighted underlined changes and flagged earlier agreed-upon language so the body could focus discussion on new text. Key substantive changes include a self-governance paragraph directing commissioners to attempt respectful, direct resolution of concerns with colleagues before escalating issues to the chair; a clarification that the chair will implement escalating steps only if matters remain unresolved; and replacing the term "illness" with the broader phrase "health considerations" to encompass family and caregiving reasons for excusal.

The revised public-comment language explicitly allows the chair discretion to ask clarifying questions of members of the public and directs that issues raised during open public input may be identified for future meeting planning, at which time commissioners may request staff work or other next steps. Commissioners requested staff add a short, explicit report-back sentence so members of the public can see that requested follow-up was completed or is underway; staff said they would track and report such follow-ups in future director's reports.

Other edits were largely formatting or clarifications of the "Blue Sheet" request process — the internal mechanism by which a commissioner works with staff to frame a question or request before presenting it for full-commission consideration. Staff explained the intent is to encourage collaborative framing with staff prior to commission action.

A motion to approve the edits was moved and seconded on the record and the chair called for the affirmative voice vote. The transcript records the motion as carried and notes the document will be dated "03/14/2026." The public record segments include the chair's announcement of "Aye" and "Motion carries" but do not show a roll-call tally in the publicly posted segments.

Commissioners and staff scheduled multiple follow-ups tied to comments and committee work: staff agreed to prepare an Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) summary and authorities list, and commissioners requested a September briefing to report on the first year of cougar-harvest implementation and conflict-reduction activities. The meeting then recessed for an executive session announced under RCW 42.30.110.

The adoption formalizes several clarifications intended to improve transparency, emphasize commissioner accountability to one another, and create clearer staff report-backs on issues raised during public input. The Commission placed the revised rules into the current rules set and dated the change 03/14/2026.