Lewis County Commissioner Scott Brummer has joined the board of the Office of Chehalis Basin (OCB), officially beginning the role on July 1.
Brummer replaces former Commissioner Edna Fund, who stepped down from the board last month and now chairs the advisory committee for the Chehalis River Basin Flood Control Zone District.
Brummer, first elected as a county commissioner in 2022, brings over two decades of experience as a fish biologist protecting salmon and fish habitat in the Chehalis River basin.
“I’m a ‘balance guy,’” Brummer said in a statement. “We have a responsibility to protect people, their homes and infrastructure from damages caused by catastrophic floods while also protecting fish and our fisheries. We need solutions that balance both these needs.”
During his career, Brummer worked for both the Thurston Conservation District and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, where he focused on flooding, streambank erosion and sustainable timber harvest.
“I love the outdoors. I love to hunt and fish,” Brummer said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to have a career that kept me in the outdoors.”
The Washington Legislature established both the board and the Office of Chehalis Basin in 2016. The board typically meets monthly and consists of representatives for the Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority, the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation and the Quinault Indian Nation, as well as agricultural, environmental and economic interests. The board includes five non-voting board members representing the state departments of Ecology, Fish and Wildlife, Natural Resources and Transportation and the Washington State Conservation Commission.
Before resigning, Fund had served on the board since its inception in 2017.
Fund, who served two terms as a county commissioner, replaced the late John Henricksen, who died in May, as chair of the Chehalis River Basin Flood Control Zone District’s advisory committee.
