The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission is taking public comment on a draft policy that guides its use of science in making decisions.
The commission announced in a news release that a draft Best Available Science Policy is out for public review until May 24.
Commissioners have been deliberating on the policy for some time, and they hope to finalize it this summer.
John Lehmkuhl, a commissioner and chair of the panel's Big Tent Committee, said in a statement that the policy will be used in a number of commission and Department of Fish and Wildlife processes, and that public feedback will help the commission "improve the policy to bring the best available science to our decision making processes."
The document is two pages long, and includes a number of bullet points detailing how the commission and department should deal with science — such as avoiding bias when interpreting studies and using social science to inform decisions.
The policy also states that when there are different interpretations of science, or conflicting studies, information provided by WDFW "shall be considered acceptable and sufficient."
A link to the full policy is available on the WDFW website. Those who wish to comment on the policy can submit comments online or by sending an email to bestavailablescience@publicinput.com.
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