James Nash, a retired marine and Eastern Oregon rancher, is no longer being considered for a seat on the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife commission after environmental advocates raised concerns over his history as a big game hunter and potential conflicts of interest.

The Senate Rules Committee, which is set to vote on the nominees this week, released its agenda Wednesday. The four other nominees are listed, but Nash’s name was not.

A spokesman for Sen. Ginny Burdick, who serves as chair of the Rules Committee, said Nash’s nomination would not be moving forward, but did not comment further. A spokeswoman for the Gov. Kate Brown, who put forth the list of nominees, said Brown had nothing to do with the removal of Nash from consideration.

Nash quickly came under fire after his name was revealed for years-old posts on his Instagram account that showed him posing next to exotic wildlife he’d killed during trophy hunts in Africa. Among the animals depicted were a hippopotamus, an enormous crocodile and a zebra.

Environmentalists also took issue with his relationship to Todd Nash, his father, who serves as Treasurer of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, an industry group that frequently comes before the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to argue for looser restrictions on when wolves can be killed for attacking livestock.

“Governor Kate Brown handed the Senate a mess,” said Arran Robertson, a spokesman for Oregon Wild, one of the groups that originally raised concerns over Nash’s nomination. “While we support this decision, it sadly does little to address the agency’s underlying issues. As long as the individuals appointed to state boards and commissions are selected from the very industries and interest groups they regulate, Oregon will continue to fall further and further behind when it comes to protecting our wildlife, clean water, and public lands.”

Reached by email Monday afternoon, Nash declined to comment.

-- Kale Williams

kwilliams@oregonian.com

503-294-4048

@sfkale

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