On Thursday morning, Anna Mitterling was on site for a Natural Resources Commission meeting in Lansing.

By lunchtime, her seat on the panel was empty.

Mitterling’s appointment - announced by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last December - was rejected 20-16 by the state Senate Thursday under the Senate’s advice and consent process, which allows the chamber to disapprove eligible gubernatorial appointments within 60 days.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clark Lake, said the vote came from concerns that Mitterling didn’t understand the “immensity” of the commission. Whitmer’s spokesperson called it a sexist political move deployed after the governor appointed George Heartwell to chair the commission last week.

Regardless of the motivation, critics of the vote said it was uncalled for considering Mitterling’s educational and professional experience and could have a chilling effect on future volunteers to serve on the commission that sets seasons and regulations for hunting and fishing in Michigan.

“We need good people - good, well-qualified people - who volunteer to do that job,” said Bryan Burroughs, executive director of Michigan Trout Unlimited. “Now they have to ask, “Am I willing to be smeared around and used politically?'”

Watch Anna Mitterling’s full hearing before the Senate Advice and Consent Committee:

In Michigan, the state Senate has overview power over gubernatorial appointments to most boards and commissions, legally known as advice and consent. The Senate Advice and Consent Committee tasked with an initial review of the governor’s appointments.

Currently chairing that committee is Sen. Pete Lucido, R-Shelby Township, who is under investigation by the Senate Business Office over sexual harassment allegations, including complaints from Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, and Michigan Advance reporter Allison Donahue.

Mitterling, a biology professor at Lansing Community College and former wildlife coordinator with the Michigan United Conservation Clubs, testified at that committee Jan. 30, answering lawmakers’ questions for more than an hour.

Mitterling told lawmakers she attended Spring Arbor University for undergrad and Michigan State University for grad school, where her research focused on how social interactions between hunters, landowners and farmers influenced their deer hunting activities.

She said her decisionmaking process on the commission would entail listening to “as many perspectives as possible” and to review social and biological scientific research on the issues.

“Making decisions for the common good does not mean making a decision because the loudest voice or the deepest pockets has a view,” she said.

During the hearing, Mitterling fielded questions about her views on how to best manage chronic wasting disease, how much public land the state should own and maintain, what can be done to address deer overpopulation and more.

At the end of the hearing, Lucido said he appreciated Mitterling’s honesty and integrity: “I can see that you were trying your best to go ahead and weather the storm with the questions that were barraged at you," he told her.

By that point, Mitterling had already participated in her first commission meeting, and on Thursday was about to partake in her second. The 60-day window during which senators could disapprove of her appointment was set to end Sunday.

Keith Creagh, an NRC commissioner and former director of the Department of Natural Resources, said he’s not familiar with Mitterling’s background and wasn’t in a position to judge her qualifications, but said she handled herself well during the last commission meeting.

He also said she brought the perspective of young women involved in the outdoors to the commission, calling that demographic “a very specific group we’re trying to reach.”

“Generally speaking, it’s a high privilege to be on the commission and the commissioners appreciate their position and their responsibilities on the commission,” he said.

Related coverage: Michigan Senate rejects Whitmer appointee, governor alleges ‘sexist, partisan games’

Ahead of the Senate vote to disapprove Mitterling, Whitmer spokesperson Tiffany Brown said Senate Republicans demanded the governor pull her Heartwell appointment in exchange for keeping Mitterling on the panel.

“Now, they’re threatening to reject a qualified woman who has dedicated her career to wildlife conservation because they didn’t get what they want,” Brown said. “Sen. Shirkey had promised to turn over a new leaf, but it’s now clear that they care more about their sexist, partisan games than the well-being of our state.”

Heartwell is a former Grand Rapids Mayor who previously served on the Michigan Transportation Commission. The NRA Institute for Legislative action recently criticized his appointment to the Natural Resources Commission over concerns he’s supported gun control legislation.

Heartwell said Thursday he was disappointed in the Senate’s vote, calling Mitterling a “very capable, qualified individual.”

“Anna’s advice and consent hearing proved that she’s bright, she’s knowledgeable, she has a deep history and background, especially on the hunting side,” he said.

Shirkey declined to comment on whether the rejection had to do with Heartwell, but told reporters it’s not unusual to negotiate and “try to find a middle ground” with the governor’s office as part of the advice and consent process.

“She looked like she just came across as being a little bit not willing to make tough decisions, quite frankly,” he said of Mitterling.

In a follow-up statement, Shirkey said Mitterling’s committee testimony didn’t square with her impressive resume, adding, “sometimes what looks good on paper is not good enough.”

Related coverage: New Michigan NRC chair says he’s not anti-gun, despite gun group opposition

Legislative Democrats and several environmental groups, including Michigan Trout Unlimited, the Michigan Sierra Club and the Michigan Environmental Council, joined the governor’s office in condemning the Senate vote.

Burroughs said he’s been aware of Mitterling’s work for years and was happy to hear she’d been appointed due to her education and work history. He said news that the Senate might reject her came as a complete surprise.

“Anna has nothing in her record to have been of concern to people,” he said. “Both (Mitterling and Heartwell) are good people that don’t deserve to be politicized for volunteering for public service.”

Burroughs said he’s frustrated about the politicization of a commission that’s designed to take politics out of important decisions for the state’s environment and hunting and fishing industries.

“There’s going to be a lot of chaos,” he said. “It’s definitely taken an ordered history of doing this and thrown a lot of disorder into it.”

Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr., D-East Lansing, sits on the Advice and Consent Committee and dismissed claims that Mitterling wasn’t good enough to sit on the commission. He said he didn’t think Heartwell should be rejected either, but suggested Republicans are going after Mitterling because it’s easier.

“The reality is that George is the former mayor of Grand Rapids, he’s got plenty of friends,” he said. “There’s plenty of reasons why they would politically worry about doing it to George, so instead they decided to do it to Anna, who frankly is just an average constituent.”

“She’s a wildlife biologist who has spent her entire career, promoting hunting and fishing,” he continued. “If she’s not actually qualified for the Natural Resources Commission, who is?”