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PERSPECTIVE: No straight shooters left in California resource management
Western Outdoor NewsPublished: Mar 09, 2010
PERSPECTIVE UPDATE
Disingenuous is a word with a lot of connotations but a simple definition in Webster’s Dictionary: not straightforward, CRAFTY.
Which makes “disingenuous” the perfect word to describe many of the folks who control the management of resources in the State of California.
Flashback to the Fred Hall Show when the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative process was in its first years, but had already laid the groundwork for massive fisheries with a draft master plan.
Tom Raftican, at that point president of the United Anglers of Southern California, brought recently appointed Fish and Game Commissioner Richard Rogers to a “Sportfishing Leadership” luncheon to speak to anglers and members of the industry before the Hall Show doors opened.
Commissioner Rogers recited chapter and verse from the Science Advisory Team’s Size and Spacing Guidelines in the master plan, speaking as if the guidelines were part of the law, instead of a theoretical structure designed to put as much quality habitat into reserve (no fishing) status.
Rogers and Ryan Broderick, at the time director of the Department of Fish and Game, delivered the message that the sportfishing community had to participate in the MLPA Initiative process — or else face the worst possible scenario of environmentalists given free rein to take away public access to the resource.
They promised that the voice of consumptive resource users would be heard and listened to, and in return, Raftican and other sportfishing leaders agreed to limit as much as possible any protests or obstructionism on the part of irate anglers.
Yes, very crafty. Hindsight shows us the sportfishing community was sold out from the beginning. The process was driven by and answered only to the funding group known as the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation.
Some of the millions spent by the RLFF fell into the pockets of the fishing community and a lot of those millions went to the scientists who made the rules. Promises don’t stand up well to an endless river of cash and many of the principals who made the promises have gone on to lucrative jobs with environmental-oriented non-governmental organizations, while others have formed their own organizations in hopes of sucking at the teat of philanthropic wealth.
One figure still remains — Richard Rogers. He was one of the commissioners who voted last week to kill off the fisherman’s proposal for the South Coast.
In his comments, Rogers complained about personal attacks on those in the process and then noted, “somehow I’ve been drawn into the process, I don’t know how.”
We do.
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PERSPECTIVE UPDATE
Disingenuous is a word with a lot of connotations but a simple definition in Webster’s Dictionary: not straightforward, CRAFTY. Which makes “disingenuous” the perfect word to describe many of the folks who control the management of resources in the State of California. Flashback to the Fred Hall Show when the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative process was in its first years, but had already laid the groundwork for massive fisheries with a draft master plan. Tom Raftican, at that point president of the United Anglers of Southern California, brought recently appointed Fish and Game Commissioner Richard Rogers to a “Sportfishing Leadership” luncheon to speak to anglers and members of the industry before the Hall Show doors opened. Commissioner Rogers recited chapter and verse from the Science Advisory Team’s Size and Spacing Guidelines in the master plan, speaking as if the guidelines were part of the law, instead of a theoretical structure designed to put as much quality habitat into reserve (no fishing) status. Rogers and Ryan Broderick, at the time director of the Department of Fish and Game, delivered the message that the sportfishing community had to participate in the MLPA Initiative process — or else face the worst possible scenario of environmentalists given free rein to take away public access to the resource. They promised that the voice of consumptive resource users would be heard and listened to, and in return, Raftican and other sportfishing leaders agreed to limit as much as possible any protests or obstructionism on the part of irate anglers. Yes, very crafty. Hindsight shows us the sportfishing community was sold out from the beginning. The process was driven by and answered only to the funding group known as the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation. Some of the millions spent by the RLFF fell into the pockets of the fishing community and a lot of those millions went to the scientists who made the rules. Promises don’t stand up well to an endless river of cash and many of the principals who made the promises have gone on to lucrative jobs with environmental-oriented non-governmental organizations, while others have formed their own organizations in hopes of sucking at the teat of philanthropic wealth. One figure still remains — Richard Rogers. He was one of the commissioners who voted last week to kill off the fisherman’s proposal for the South Coast. In his comments, Rogers complained about personal attacks on those in the process and then noted, “somehow I’ve been drawn into the process, I don’t know how.” We do. |
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