Making a "Super Agency"??

[Grumpy]

From the Hunter's Heritage Council Lobbyist Ed Owens:



The Senate bill calling for the merger of WDFW & Parks into DNR remains bottled up in the Senate Natural Resources Committee. Multiple title only bills dealing with "natural resources" have been introduced - any one of them could be used as the policy vehicle to merge WDFW & Parks into DNR and that's now the likely event to occur.



The Senate budget released yesterday zero's out the WDFW budget, reduces the agency operating budget by $10.5 million and transfers all WDFW functions to DNR. No proof has been presented that the state "saves" $10.5 million in operating costs by these actions. Making these budget provisions will require passage of a policy bill - you can bet one will come down the road quickly - we just don't know what vehicle (bill) will be used.



This is serious business - EVERY FISHING, HUNTING AND RELATED PROGRAM AND EVERY DEDICATED FUND IS AT RISK FOR TERMINATION OR REDUCTION. The majority of hunters and fishers in Washington State agreed to surcharges on their licenses to keep these important functions in place last year. Your support of the department will be wiped out if the Senate Budget is allowed to advance with the merger language in it - the House version of the budget does not (yet) contain this language.



You, your organizations and all of the members or your organizations (and their friends and family) ABSOLUTELY need to get involved NOW. The only "target" at the moment is the merger language in the Senate budget. A simple "I oppose merger of the natural resource agencies" will suffice.



It's been about 15 years since the old department of fish and department of game were merged to create WDFW. We're still dealing with the ugly consequences of that merger. We don't need another super agency ... that's not government reform. Creating another super agency while doing harm to the already existing programs willingly funded by hunters and fishers is not responsible wildlife management.



The first order of priority is for everybody to contact EVERY member of the Senate Ways & Means Committee with the message LOUD AND CLEAR STATED that the hunters and fishers of the state are adamantly opposed to merging WDFW into DNR. The second order of priority is then for all the rest of the members of the Senate to "hear" that message as well as your legislators in the House.



Individual direct web-based emails can be sent through:

http://www.leg.wa.gov/Senate/Committ...bersStaff.aspx

The in-state toll-free Hotline number for those wanting to call their legislators is 800.562.6000.

*************************************************************



WASHINGTON FISH AND WILDLIFE COMMISSION
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov

Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission Statement on Senate Bill 6813
(A bill transferring various natural resources management duties to the Department of Natural Resources.)

February 12, 2010

The Fish and Wildlife Commission hereby expresses its strong opposition to Senate Bill 6813 . This proposed legislation would abolish the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the State Parks and Recreation Commission and transfer their powers, duties, and functions to the Department of Natural Resources. While the Legislature states that it intends no transfer of powers and duties away from the Fish and Wildlife Commission, it in fact would eliminate the central authority of the Fish and Wildlife Commission — the power to hire and fire the Director. It would also remove the Commission’s authority over the Department budget.

The three agencies that are affected by this bill have very different mandates and missions — each important to the quality of life of our citizenry. It would be improper to intentionally or unintentionally make the vital resource conservation mission of the Department of Fish and Wildlife subordinate to the resource extraction mission of the Department of Natural Resources.

After a thoughtful and deliberative process considering the costs and benefits of various natural resource agencies re-organization options, the Governor proposed ways to enhance efficiency and reduce redundancy. The Governor’s government reform process involved resource professionals, the affected stakeholders, and the public. SB 6813 proposes to enact a merger option that was thoroughly reviewed but ultimately eliminated because it lacked benefits sufficient to justify the costs and risks to the state’s natural resources.

The merger proposed in this bill will diminish the ability of each component agency to successfully focus and consolidate the needed resources on the core elements of its own unique mission. Because of the important differences in their purposes, the component parts of the agencies would not be integrated, but would remain distinct parts of the resulting combined agency. The transition is likely to give rise to a host of procedural issues which will distract staff from strategic priorities.

The impact on the governance of WDFW is our preeminent concern. In passing Referendum 45 in 1995, the voters of Washington empowered the Fish and Wildlife Commission with supervisory authority over the Department director for a purpose: to guarantee that fish and wildlife management would be both directly responsive to the public and insulated from political pressures. As is the case in states around the country, the Commission process was designed to assure that the interests of long-term conservation would not be compromised for short-term political ends.

By eliminating the Commission’s source of authority — the authority to hire and fire the director — this bill will reverse Referendum 45. If enacted, this bill will remove the power of the Commission. It will remove the Commission’s ability to demand conservation of fish and wildlife. The Commission will no longer be able to provide the public a direct avenue to exert control over the agency that sets important hunting and fishing rules. The Commission will no longer have the clout to insulate uniquely important conservation decisions from the politics of the day.

The people made their intent absolutely clear. The people voted to provide a citizen commission with the authority to govern the agency that makes decisions on the fish and wildlife resources of this state.

Susan Yeager, Executive Assistant
Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission
Phone: (360) 902-2267
Email: Susan.Yeager@dfw.wa.gov
Mail: 600 Capitol Way North
Olympia, Washington 98501-1091
Web: http://wdfw.wa.gov/commission

*************************************************************

From "Gun Rights Examiner"

Evergreen State hunters and fishermen have historically been treated with a mix of indifference, disdain and outright contempt by the State Legislature and the governor’s office over the past quarter-century.
When thousands of sportsmen rallied on the Capitol steps in the 1980s – brought there by the now-inactive Sportsmen’s Rights Coalition – they were essentially given lip service. The old Department of Game was merged with the Department of Fisheries to create the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, an indication that the agency would – and many complain has – gradually drifted away from the primary mission for which it was created, to serve hunters and anglers and to conserve, protect and enhance fish and game populations. Many sportsmen so hate this agency and the direction that it has taken that they refer to it as the Department of NO Fish and NO Wildlife; an agency that is less interested in enhancing deer and elk herds than it is in bringing back wolves and giving them a big hug.
"Abolishes the department of fish and wildlife and transfers its powers, duties, and functions to the department of natural resources."
The advent of a divisive and many believe disastrous hunting management structure called “Resource Allocationâ€

[Grumpy]

Being the cynic I am, I'm sure there's bad news in here somewhere for wheeling. This is all starting to give me heartburn...

[Grumpy]

Sent to Delvin, Haler, and Klippert:


I'll be honest. I'm having some serious issues with this one! How does this streamline anything, or save on the budget? All this is going to do is make an agency so cumbersome, it won't know it's own rules. Each of these agencies need to be able to maintain focus on their core mission. If combined, I fear that much of what is being done will become diluted, and nothing will get done. My view from the steppe is that too much of Olympia is too focused on preceedure, and has lost sight of getting results! Please see that the agencies involved are allowed to maintain their identity and mission.

Best,

Dave