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Wildlife politics in the balance
By JEFF GEARINO, Casper Star-Tribune Southwest Wyoming bureau
June 4, 2003
GREEN RIVER -- Charges that politics took precedence over wildlife in recent years may be on the mark, but wildlife advocates are hopeful recent elections and appointments will change that.
Harry Harju, a 30-plus-year employee of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, charged in a newspaper opinion piece that the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission has not been representing the best interests of wildlife in the state over the past few years.
Harju questioned the wisdom of maintaining commissioners as political appointees.
Wildlife is losing because various political agendas are colliding, wrote Harju, who retired in December from his post as assistant Wildlife Division chief. He wrote that the commission has been derelict in its duties toward wildlife over the past few years and that politics is driving the agency's wildlife decisions rather than good science.
Mike Rinehart, director of the Fremont County Chapter of the Wyoming Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife (SFW) said he shares some of Harju's concerns about the director and commission members being political appointees.
"We feel like the sportsmen are the ones that should be appointing fish and wildlife commissioners, not the governor," he said.
"It's too political now... the people that make those appointments should be the people that buy those (hunting) tags every year," Rinehart said. "We need to take politics out of it and get back to real life."
Without acknowledging a problem with past commissioners, Gov. Dave Freudenthal said he is trying to appoint Game and Fish commissioners who will better advocate for wildlife.
"What I wanted to do was establish a commission that can move toward reflecting the sportsmen and wildlife interests in the state and I think those two (commission) appointments is a step in the right direction," Freudenthal said.
The governor earlier this year named former Illinois Department of Natural Resources Director Brent Manning as the new director of the Game and Fish Department.
He also appointed, with Senate approval, Bill Williams and Ron Lovercheck to the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission.
"I've met with the commission and with the new director and indicated to them ... that I believe that is their mission and that the commission was created for the habitat and wildlife and sportsmen and they should pursue that," he said.
State law constrains the governor's appointments to the commission to a rotation system. Commissioners serve six-year terms and Wyoming law says no more than four members of the commission can be of the same political party at any given time.
Wyoming Wildlife Federation Director Larry Baesler said he believes the agency has taken a new direction of late.
"I'm confident that we've got a commission now and a Game and Fish Department that are going to be advocates for fish and wildlife and we've turned a new page with the governor, director and commission," he said. "I think we're looking at a brighter day in terms of wildlife."
Criticisms
In his newspaper column, Harju criticized the current system that makes the Game and Fish director and commissioners political appointees.
He said that discourages knowledgeable professionals from applying for the job and sometimes results in commissioners who don't care about wildlife.
He also criticized the agriculture industry's influence on the commission and said some commissioners in the past have put what was good for wildlife last.
Liz Howell, the director of the Wyoming Wilderness Association, said the column was "absolutely on the mark."
Howell praised Harju for "his courage and now that he is free to speak, I hope he understands that we are relieved that finally someone has spoken of our frustrations of the last few years with the Game and Fish."
Former state lawmaker Dick Sadler of Casper said he also sees a turnaround coming for the agency.
"Since the governor named the new director and two new commissioners, I see a complete turnaround coming and I think we'll get back to managing wildlife again the way it should be done," he said.
"I think we've crossed the hump and I think we're going to see Gov. Dave make some even better appointments of people really concerned about the wildlife," Sadler said. "Wildlife should certainly come first and it hasn't the last few years."
Commissioner Doyle Dorner said he had not seen the column and could not comment. Several other commissioners, including current and past, either could not be contacted or did not return messages.
By JEFF GEARINO, Casper Star-Tribune Southwest Wyoming bureau
June 4, 2003
GREEN RIVER -- Charges that politics took precedence over wildlife in recent years may be on the mark, but wildlife advocates are hopeful recent elections and appointments will change that.
Harry Harju, a 30-plus-year employee of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, charged in a newspaper opinion piece that the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission has not been representing the best interests of wildlife in the state over the past few years.
Harju questioned the wisdom of maintaining commissioners as political appointees.
Wildlife is losing because various political agendas are colliding, wrote Harju, who retired in December from his post as assistant Wildlife Division chief. He wrote that the commission has been derelict in its duties toward wildlife over the past few years and that politics is driving the agency's wildlife decisions rather than good science.
Mike Rinehart, director of the Fremont County Chapter of the Wyoming Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife (SFW) said he shares some of Harju's concerns about the director and commission members being political appointees.
"We feel like the sportsmen are the ones that should be appointing fish and wildlife commissioners, not the governor," he said.
"It's too political now... the people that make those appointments should be the people that buy those (hunting) tags every year," Rinehart said. "We need to take politics out of it and get back to real life."
Without acknowledging a problem with past commissioners, Gov. Dave Freudenthal said he is trying to appoint Game and Fish commissioners who will better advocate for wildlife.
"What I wanted to do was establish a commission that can move toward reflecting the sportsmen and wildlife interests in the state and I think those two (commission) appointments is a step in the right direction," Freudenthal said.
The governor earlier this year named former Illinois Department of Natural Resources Director Brent Manning as the new director of the Game and Fish Department.
He also appointed, with Senate approval, Bill Williams and Ron Lovercheck to the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission.
"I've met with the commission and with the new director and indicated to them ... that I believe that is their mission and that the commission was created for the habitat and wildlife and sportsmen and they should pursue that," he said.
State law constrains the governor's appointments to the commission to a rotation system. Commissioners serve six-year terms and Wyoming law says no more than four members of the commission can be of the same political party at any given time.
Wyoming Wildlife Federation Director Larry Baesler said he believes the agency has taken a new direction of late.
"I'm confident that we've got a commission now and a Game and Fish Department that are going to be advocates for fish and wildlife and we've turned a new page with the governor, director and commission," he said. "I think we're looking at a brighter day in terms of wildlife."
Criticisms
In his newspaper column, Harju criticized the current system that makes the Game and Fish director and commissioners political appointees.
He said that discourages knowledgeable professionals from applying for the job and sometimes results in commissioners who don't care about wildlife.
He also criticized the agriculture industry's influence on the commission and said some commissioners in the past have put what was good for wildlife last.
Liz Howell, the director of the Wyoming Wilderness Association, said the column was "absolutely on the mark."
Howell praised Harju for "his courage and now that he is free to speak, I hope he understands that we are relieved that finally someone has spoken of our frustrations of the last few years with the Game and Fish."
Former state lawmaker Dick Sadler of Casper said he also sees a turnaround coming for the agency.
"Since the governor named the new director and two new commissioners, I see a complete turnaround coming and I think we'll get back to managing wildlife again the way it should be done," he said.
"I think we've crossed the hump and I think we're going to see Gov. Dave make some even better appointments of people really concerned about the wildlife," Sadler said. "Wildlife should certainly come first and it hasn't the last few years."
Commissioner Doyle Dorner said he had not seen the column and could not comment. Several other commissioners, including current and past, either could not be contacted or did not return messages.
