Ex-state biologist facing ethics accusations

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Investigators say a former state wildlife biologist used his position to steer funding from Klickitat County wind farms to a nonprofit institute that he founded and helped run.

The state Executive Ethics Board accuses former Fish and Wildlife Department biologist William Weiler of violating state law by channeling mitigation funding and state grants to the Columbia Gorge Ecology Institute, an educational and restoration group in Hood River, Ore.

Weiler, who has since resigned from both his state job and the institute, denies any wrongdoing.

"None of those charges are true," he said when reached by phone earlier this week at his home in Lyle, Wash. He then hung up without elaborating.

Weiler has until April 26 to respond to the board's allegations.

The institute, wind companies and other wildlife officials were not accused of any wrongdoing by the Ethics Board, which investigates charges of state employees misusing funds or abusing their positions.

"It's more complex than the normal run of the mill type case," said Melanie deLeon, the board's executive director.

The March 10 ethics report said the institute's purpose conflicted with Weiler's duties and that he failed to disclose that conflict to his agency.

Investigators said Weiler's state job gave him "prior knowledge" of the effect 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 the institute owned.

Weiler contracted with his own state agency while acting for the nonprofit organization, the report said.

The investigation was sparked by complaints in February by Klickitat County officials, who relied on Weiler to help wind farm developers find ways to compensate for the unavoidable environmental toll of building roads, pouring cement and erecting towers.

To date, the county has approved enough wind turbines for more than 1,000 megawatts of power, enough to power up to 500,000 homes.

Typically, county planners preferred that mitigation effort take place close to the development.

Among other issues, the county complained when Weiler suggested letting one wind development company near Goldendale pay for a wetlands restoration project 35 or so miles to the west. In the end, the company contributed to a project near Maryhill Museum, only about five miles from the site.

Weiler also convinced wind companies to give his institute a total of $120,000 for raptor research. The Wildlife Department conducted the research, but the institute kept 10 percent, or $12,000, for managing the funds and paying invoices for equipment ordered by wildlife employees.

The effect on birds and bats is one of the biggest environmental concerns about wind farms.

In July 2007, a ferruginous hawk was killed, probably by a turbine blade, at a wind farm near Bickleton. To make up for it, Weiler convinced the farm's owner to contribute $15,000 to the hawk research.

Jan Johnson, a spokeswoman for Iberdrola Renewables in Portland, said the company knew about Weiler's involvement with the institute but also worked with other Wildlife Department officials in planning their mitigation efforts after the hawk's death.

It's common to send money to nonprofit institutes at the request of state agencies, such as the Wildlife Department, which can't accept direct donations, she said.

Weiler also worked on mitigation issues with Cannon Power Group of San Diego, Calif., whose two projects south of Goldendale -- Windy Point and Windy Flats -- are among the largest in the nation. The company said it was unaware of the connection between Weiler and the institute, which conducts wildlife habitat restoration and environmental educational programs for a 2,000-square-mile area.

The ethics board investigation said it turned up several deals in part brokered by Weiler that had nothing to do with wind power, including state and federal wildlife habitat grants to the institute that Weiler helped found in the mid-1990s and served as president.

The board was surprised by the allegations and asked Weiler to resign on March 25, which he did, said Aaron Morehouse, executive director of the institute.

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

Weiler could face fines up to $5,000 for each of the four violations if the board upholds the allegations.

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.