Unsworth Out as WDFW Director
Jim Unsworth, director of the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, gave his two weeks notice to the state’s Fish and Wildlife Commission today; Unsworth will resign as WDFW director effective February 7.
The resignation comes a month after commission vice-chair Larry Carpenter called the director’s decision to negotiate the state/tribal Puget Sound Chinook harvest comanagement plan without informing the commission an “unacceptable practice.”
“This has been a challenging, educational, and often rewarding experience,” Unsworth said in a letter to Commission Chairman Brad Smith. “It is now time for me to pursue other professional and personal goals in wildlife and natural resources management.”
Prior to coming to Washington in 2015, Unsworth had been employed by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game since 1984, where he was deputy director and had also served as the state’s big game manager. A wildlife biologist and expert on mule deer, Unsworth earned his doctorate in wildlife and range science from the University of Idaho.
The commission has announced that an interim director will be appointed “as soon as possible.”
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