Former state wildlife biologist accused of ethics violation

VANCOUVER, Wash. - State ethics investigators said a former state wildlife biologist used his government position to broker projects for his nonprofit group in violation of state law.

The Washington State Executive Ethics Board found reason to believe William Weiler arranged habitat projects for wind developers in Klickitat County in return for donations to his Columbia Gorge Ecology Institute.

"I don't think the charges are true," Weiler told The Columbian newspaper. He said he will ask for a hearing to contest the ethics board's finding.

Weiler was asked to resign from the board of the Hood River, Ore.-based nonprofit group two weeks ago, after the ethics report became public. He started the institute in 1995.

The March 10 ethics report said the group's purpose conflicted with Weiler's duties when he was a biologist with the Department of Fish and Wildlife and that he failed to disclose it to his agency.

Investigators said Weiler's state job gave him "prior knowledge" of the impact of proposed wind farms on wildlife. Using that information, he persuaded companies to propose projects that benefited his institute in return for "special treatment," they said. Some projects were on wetlands which the institute owned.

Investigators cited one "egregious" example where Weiler persuaded the agency to let his institute manage money collected from wind developers to study how wind farms affected raptors. His group took a 10 percent cut, pocketing $12,000 of the $120,000 developers paid for the study.

"He helped broker projects between his agency and his nonprofit organization that would profit his organization," the report said. "He contracted with his own state agency while acting for the nonprofit organization."

Weiler resigned from the department in August "in lieu of termination," said Joe Stohr, the department's deputy director.

"The findings are deeply troubling to us," Stohr told the newspaper. "What this alleges is clearly not representative of how we at Fish and Wildlife take our responsibilities."

Sen. Jim Honeyford, R-Sunnyside, whose district includes Klickitat County, sent a letter to the head of Fish and Wildlife this month demanding to know how the alleged violations could have occurred undetected.

The Klickitat County Board of Commissioners had asked the ethics board in February to look at allegations that Weiler violated conflict-of-interest laws.