AZ Game & Fish Commissioners need to be confirmed ASAP

Arizona’s Game and Fish Commission currently has five commissioners — two of whom are highly qualified nominees waiting for their confirmation hearing. 

Marsha Sue and Jeffrey Buchanan were both appointed by then-Governor Doug Ducey fall of 2022. Both have cleared all the requirements of the process, they simply need their appropriate confirmation paperwork submitted to the Senate.

The problem is that unless the confirmation paperwork and process start as soon as possible, they are at risk of exceeding the confirmation grace period and being excluded from the Commission. 

This is troublesome for two very important reasons: 

1) The Commission and AZ Game and Fish Department are responsible for managing more than 800 species of wildlife, both game and non-game, for all of Arizona’s citizens. 

The ability to provide guidance and direction to Department staff requires a fully engaged and staffed Commission. Having only three Commissioners would hamstring the entire wildlife management process.

2) If two Commissioner seats are left open, that would also leave the door open for the current Governor to appoint potentially unfavorable nominees next spring. 

Arizona’s Game and Fish Commission is one of the most effective wildlife agency governing bodies in North America. To operate at full strength, it needs the two qualified and dedicated Commission candidates to be confirmed by the Senate. 

Read the letter from the Arizona Sportsmen For Wildlife Conservation Here

ACTION BELOW

Let Governor Katie Hobbs, Senate President Warren Petersen, and Senate Natural Resources Committee Chair Sine Kerr know that you support the immediate confirmation of Marsha Sue and Jeffrey Buchanan.

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