This is your central hub for everything related to our campaign to challenge entrenched power, expose special interest capture, and ensure the voices of the public and wildlife are heard. Here you’ll find key updates, media, and analysis on our effort to hold WDFW leadership accountable and defend the right to speak, organize, and advocate for science-based, ethical wildlife policy, including on our recent federal civil rights lawsuit. Check back regularly for the latest updates as this work continues to unfold.
Washington Wildlife First (WW1), our Executive Director Claire Loebs Davis, and Washington Fish & Wildlife Commissioner Lorna Smith have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington against WDFW Director Kelly Susewind and Deputy Director Amy Windrope. Our complaint brings claims under the First Amendment and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for viewpoint discrimination and retaliation—core constitutional protections that prohibit government officials from punishing people for speaking out.
As set out in our complaint, Susewind and Windrope used their authority and public agency resources to target Commissioner Smith, Claire Loebs Davis, and WW1 because they criticized agency leadership, challenged its policies, and advocated for science-based, ethical, and accountable wildlife governance. Susewind and Windrope directed staff to search communications, compile records, and construct baseless, defamatory accusations of “collusion” between commissioners and wildlife advocates based on protected speech and association. Then, they used those accusations to push for investigations and the removal of dissenting commissioners.
This is exactly the pattern at the center of our Not My WDFW campaign. For years, we have documented how agency leadership elevates a narrow set of consumptive interests while sidelining the values, concerns, and voices of most Washingtonians. This lawsuit shows how far that dynamic has gone: when those broader public values are asserted—through science, advocacy, or oversight—they are treated as a threat to be managed, rather than a mandate to be respected.
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This lawsuit exposes what happens when a public agency stops treating oversight and broad public engagement as part of its duty. The First Amendment protects the right to challenge government decisions, advocate for change, and work with others to do so. When those in power respond by targeting critics, searching their communications, and building fraudulent cases against them, it sends a clear message: dissent will not be tolerated.
It also reveals a deeper values gap within agency leadership. Advocacy for stronger wildlife protections, accountability, and transparency is treated not as a reflection of public priorities, but as something suspect. That response reflects an entrenched view that wildlife policy should continue to serve a narrow, traditional user group—rather than evolve to reflect broader public values and scientific concerns.
Susewind—and, by extension, Windrope and their team—embodies this deeper problem. His leadership reflects and reinforces an agency that is widely out of step with the public it is meant to serve, and his response to growing scrutiny makes clear that meaningful reform will be impossible under his direction.
Unfortunately, our lawsuit cannot remove the Director from his position. That responsibility lies with those entrusted to oversee the agency: the Fish & Wildlife Commission, the Legislature, and the Governor. If we want real change, those leaders must act. We need a full and transparent investigation into Susewind’s conduct and decisive action to restore accountability at WDFW.
We invite you to explore the materials on this page, review the evidence, and take action. Sign our petition calling for Susewind’s removal, and help ensure that Washington’s wildlife agency serves the public and wildlife with integrity.
