NEWS RELEASE
WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, Washington 98501-1091
Internet Address: http://wdfw.wa.gov
May 3, 2005
Contact: Susan Yeager, (360) 902-2267


New Fish and Wildlife commissioners
to participate in May 14 meeting


OLYMPIA - When the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission holds its next meeting, May 14 in Tumwater, four recently appointed members are expected to be in attendance.

The four new commissioners, appointed by Gov. Christine Gregoire, are Jerry Gutzwiler of Wenatchee, Chuck Perry of Moses Lake, Shirley Solomon of Mount Vernon and Miranda Wecker of Naselle.

The commission is a nine-member citizen panel that sets policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Three commission members must be eastern Washington residents, three must be appointed from western Washington, and three at-large members may reside anywhere in the state; no two commissioners may reside in the same county.

Gutzwiler, an orchardist in the Wenatchee area, was appointed to an eastern Washington position to serve through 2008. He is a retired forester and timberland manager.

Perry is a rangeland consultant and a retired Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife employee. He was appointed to serve through 2006 in an eastern Washington position.

Solomon, who was appointed to an at-large position to serve through 2008, is the chair of the Skagit Watershed Council, a community partnership for salmon. She is also affiliated with Long Live the Kings, a Seattle-basedconservation organization.

Wecker, appointed to serve through 2006 in a western Washington seat, is an attorney/consultant and a Marine Program Manager for the University of Washington's Olympic Natural Resources Center at Willapa Bay.

All four were appointed in mid-March.

Other commission members include Ron Ozment of Cathlamet, commission chair; Fred Shiosaki of Spokane, vice-chair; Will Roehl of Bellingham; Dr. Kenneth Chew of Seattle; and Clyde McBrayer of Olympia.
For more information on the commission, including upcoming meeting dates, visit http://wdfw.wa.gov/com/comintro.htm on the WDFW website.