Idaho official picked to lead Washington wildlife agency
TUMWATER, Wash. - The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has a new director.
Jim Unsworth will lead the agency of more than 1,600 employees and a two-year operating budget of $376 million.
The 57-year-old recently served as deputy director of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. He will replace Phil Anderson.
The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission announced his appointment Saturday.
Commissioners said they wanted a leader with a strong conservation ethic, good fiscal skills and experience working collaboratively. His annual salary will be $146,500.
Unsworth has been with Idaho Fish and Game for 30 years. He has served as the agency's deputy director since 2008. He has a doctorate in forestry, wildlife and range sciences from the University of Idaho.
Burglary charge dropped in crime scene case
TWIN FALLS - Twin Falls County prosecutors have dropped the most serious charge against a worker accused of stealing from a grisly crime scene in November.
Prosecutors filed a motion Thursday to dismiss a felony burglary charge against 65-year-old William Green after an investigation found he didn't intend wrongdoing.
The Times-News reported Green was working for a company hired to clean the home where three bodies were found. Authorities believe 36-year-old George Salinas Jr. killed his longtime girlfriend and one of her five children before killing himself Nov. 15.
Sheriff's deputies initially thought Green removed items from the house that were not contaminated.
Washington wildlife agency wants to protect tufted puffins
OLYMPIA - Washington wildlife managers want to list tufted puffins as an endangered species in the state, while removing protective status for Stellar sea lions.
The native seabirds, with striking feathers and a bright orange bill, were once common in the San Juan Islands and along the coast.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife said there's been a dramatic decline in their historic breeding sites in recent decades.
Meanwhile, the agency said the population of Stellar sea lions that range from southeast Alaska to northern California has grown steadily and it should be removed from the state's threatened species list.
The federal government removed that population from federal protection in 2013.
The state is seeking public comment this month.
Rape charge filed in 2007 case after evidence found in refridgerator
PORT ORCHARD, Wash. - A 29-year-old Kentucky man has been charged with a 2007 rape in Washington, after police discovered critical evidence had been stored for years in a police evidence room refrigerator.
The Kitsap Sun reported forensic evidence in an alleged rape was collected and stored but never sent to a crime lab for processing.
Cmdr. Dale Schuster of the Port Orchard Police Department said evidence should have been sent to the Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory in 2007 or 2008.
He discovered the oversight last summer while going through an evidence list and assigned a new investigator to the case. He said the department is reviewing its handling of the case and looking into possible disciplinary action.
John Wayne Croft was extradited from Frankfort, Ky., and booked into Kitsap County Jail Thursday on investigation of second-degree rape.
Trial set for man charged with killing three grizzly bears
GREAT FALLS, Mont. - A Montana man faces trial next month on charges he illegally killed three grizzly bears near his residence last summer.
U.S. District Judge John Johnston set trial for Feb. 17 after a plea deal between Everett Skunkcap and federal prosecutors fell through this week.
Skunkcap last month agreed to plead guilty to killing one of the bears. But during a Monday hearing he said he killed all three in defense of his grandchildren, who were 100 feet away at the time of the shooting near Browning.
Skunkcap's attorney asked for several extra weeks to prepare for trial so the 75-year-old defendant "can refresh his memory about what he told law enforcement."
Each count of killing a threatened species carries a maximum sentence of six months prison and a $25,000 fine.
Associated Press
