Last week, I sat in a room with fellow lawmakers, the mayor of Centralia, representatives from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and, most importantly, local citizens whose health and safety are being jeopardized by a situation that has gone on for far too long: nitrate contamination caused by the WDFW’s pheasant farm in Centralia.
What I hoped would be a meeting focused on clear steps and solutions quickly devolved into more bureaucratic foot-dragging. Instead of presenting a plan to fix the problem, WDFW’s primary takeaway was to spend more taxpayer dollars on — what else? — more studies.
Let me be clear: We already know where the problem is coming from. Nitrate levels spike dramatically at the site of the 160-acre Bob Oke Game Farm, where the state breeds and raises 40,000 to 45,000 pheasants annually, and then steadily declines as water flows away from it. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to connect the dots. But the consequences of this contamination aren’t just theoretical — they’re very real and deeply personal for our community.
We heard from our local health officer that consistent exposure to high levels of nitrates in drinking water is linked to serious health issues, including colon cancer. Immediately after that, a local man stood up and shared his story. He and his wife had been suffering from persistent stomach problems, which eventually led them to test their water. The culprit? High nitrate levels. After switching to filtered water, their symptoms began to disappear. This is not just anecdotal — it’s a red flag, and one that should prompt swift action.
Even more alarming is that just three-quarters of a mile downstream from the game farm, the city of Centralia has a well that contributes to our municipal water supply. For months, some residents have had to rely on bottled water due to contamination fears. And yet WDFW’s response is to suggest further analysis and to focus instead on how to protect hunters who want to shoot non-native birds — birds that, I might add, don’t even belong in our ecosystem.
This is the same agency that asked just four years ago for the TransAlta property to be donated to them. Their plan? To introduce three to four endangered, non-native species to the area — an act that would’ve halted any and all future development. It’s the same agency that manages Plummer Lake, a body of water right off the freeway that could be a recreational asset but instead has become an eyesore and frequent source of public safety calls.
It’s time to ask: whose interests is WDFW really serving?
We’ve been patient. In fact, this issue was first raised back in 2019 — before COVID. But like so many things, it was put on the back burner. Now, with more comprehensive testing, we can see just how extreme the situation has become. This isn’t just about a few birds or a few bad readings — this is about protecting one of our most vital water sources for current and future generations.
A land swap has been discussed multiple times, offering WDFW the opportunity to relocate this game farm to a more suitable location in a drier climate where the birds would actually thrive. But each time, the proposal has been dismissed. Why? If this were a private farm causing this level of contamination, it would have been shut down immediately. But because WDFW is a state agency, they act as if the rules don’t apply to them. That’s unacceptable.
WDFW is funded by our tax dollars. That means they are accountable to us, the people. It’s time for them to act like it. This is no longer just about environmental stewardship — it’s about public health, public trust and doing what’s right for our community.
The people of Centralia and Lewis County deserve clean water, and we deserve accountability. We must be vocal, united and unwavering in our demand that this problem be fixed — not studied, not ignored — fixed. The future of our water, our land and our people depends on it.
I hope their response going forward is one of care for the greater community and action to help preserve our precious aquifer.
Please email WDFW leadership directly: Cynthia.Wilkerson@dfw.wa.gov, Anis.Aoude@dfw.wa.gov, Christopher.White@dfw.wa.gov and Luke.Smith@dfw.wa.gov.
Republican Sean Swope is the commissioner for District 1 on the Board of Lewis County Commissioners.
