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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 30, 2005 Gretchen Oosterhout Eagle Point nominee loses state bid By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune Gov. Ted Kulongoski is pulling back his planned nomination of an Eagle Point computer analyst to the state Fish and Wildlife Commission amid criticism of her work with fish-conservation groups and for not representing timber or agricultural interests. Gretchen Oosterhout will not be formally nominated for the commission and face an October confirmation hearing because she does not now have enough confirmed support among the Oregon Senate’s 30 members — 18 of whom are Kulongoski’s fellow Democrats. "We’re not prepared to move forward with the appointment until we can be sure there’s 16 votes for confirmation," spokeswoman Anna Richter Taylor said. "We’re not going to move anybody forward until we know we can get confirmation." A systems analyst whose computer models help predict future health of salmon stocks, Oosterhout said she believes her nomination was scuttled by people more interested in using ideology, not science, as a driving force in fish and wildlife politics. "Fish and wildlife commissioners are supposed to make objective decisions based on the best available science," Oosterhout said Thursday. "You’d have a hard time finding someone with better qualifications for doing that than me. Advertisement "If what you want is someone driven by ideology, then I’m not it," she said. Senate Majority Leader Kate Brown, however, said it’s more about bodies than ideology. Of the 18 Senate Democrats, one has expressed "concerns" about Oosterhout’s nomination, said Brown, who declined to identify the senator or the specific concern. Another unidentified Senate Democrat does not plan to attend the upcoming Senate Rules Committee on Oct. 21 and the Oct. 27 Senate confirmation vote, meaning all 16 remaining Democrats would have to support Oosterhout for confirmation at that time, Brown said. "That’s a pretty close vote as it is," said Brown, D-Portland. "I’d like to have a little more in my pocketbook in case something goes wrong." Senate Democrats were scheduled to meet Friday and Oosterhout’s potential confirmation will be discussed. "I don’t know where the votes are," Brown said. Oosterhout was tapped to replace Jacksonville attorney Don Denman, who represents the Second Congressional District on the seven-member commission that sets fish and wildlife policies and oversees the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. A governor’s advisor identified her as the planned appointee two weeks ago and she met with natural-resource lobbyists to discuss her potential role on the commission, but her name was never sent formally to the Senate. Taylor said there were no current plans to nominate anyone for Denman’s seat at this time, and Oosterhout "absolutely" will remain a potential candidate. Oosterhout was part of a duo in 2001 who crafted the so-called "Doomsday Clock" computer model that predicted wild Snake River chinook salmon would become functionally extinct by 2017 under current Columbia River management. She also co-authored a paper that concludes tweaking fish-hatchery practices shows no long-term benefits for helping recover Oregon’s wild population of coastal coho salmon. That paper was recently published in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. It came as the ODFW is in the midst of creating a new conservation hatchery program of its own to study hatcheries’ use in salmon recovery. Oosterhout is married to Bob Hunter, staff attorney for WaterWatch, a group that pushes for river protection. "She creates a tremendous amount of controversy," said State Sen. Jason Atkinson, the Central Point Republican who is running for his party’s gubernatorial nomination in 2006. "My phone, e-mail and fax started coming under fire two days ago about her," Atkinson said. A group of commercial fishermen and fish processors called Salmon For All was prepared to oppose Oosterhout’s nomination. Jim Markee, Salmon For All’s Salem lobbyist, said some group members believe Oosterhout’s fisheries work showed "a strong bias" against the ODFW’s hatchery policy. Members of the agricultural and timber industries also expressed concern over Oosterhout in part because no one from that background currently is on the commission. Though Oosterhout is a fourth generation farmer and runs her own vineyard, industry leaders do not consider her as someone representing their interests. "We expressed our opposition to the governor," said Paulette Pyle, a lobbyist for the Salem-based Oregonians for Food and Shelter, which lobbies on behalf of the timber and agriculture industries. "We wanted a working farmer, a working forester or a working rancher on the commission." Despite her opposition, Pyle was surprised Oosterhout’s nomination fell through. "I expected her to move forward," Pyle said. "I didn’t have a clue she would be (dropped)." Commissioners are appointed to four-year terms representing each of Oregon’s five congressional districts, with at-large members for each side of the Cascades. Taylor said Denman will remain in the seat until someone is nominated and confirmed. Oosterhout is the latest Kulongoski appointee not to pass muster with state senators. Former Congressman Les AuCoin failed to earn confirmation to a seat on the Oregon Board of Forestry in March after senators complained about his criticism of the timber industry in newspaper and radio commentaries. In February, former newspaper columnist and television commentator Russell Sadler withdrew his nomination to the Oregon State Marine Board after similar complaints by some senators who first held up his nomination. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail Eagle Point nominee loses state bid ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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