Common sense prevailed and the final report on reforming natural resource agencies and the governor's resulting executive order do not include possible mergers or consolidations-ideas that had been floated since September.
The Federation's Natural Resources Task Force will keep an eye on what happens now after the Dec. 2 release of the report on transforming the delivery of natural resource services.
The changes that will come involve streamlining permitting, appeals and ending duplication in agency review processes. Several agencies will work together to integrate efforts to improve tourism and outdoor recreation. The Department of Natural Resources will provide maintenance and other services-except conservation management and land use policy--for 840,000 acres of land owned by the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The six-month review involved agencies like Ecology, Fish and Wildlife, Parks and Recreation, Agriculture, Natural Resources and others.
While the governor rejected the costly and inefficient ideas to merge agencies, it doesn't mean the Legislature might not initiate some of those strategies.
That's why the WFSE/AFSCME Natural Resources Task Force has to remain vigilant, said its chair, Scott Mallery, an Ecology member in Spokane and member of Local 1221.
Read the press release here.
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