Smalma

That's kind of funny Smalma that you would say;
You have been on this board long enough to known why I have formed such an opinion about WDFW. It didn't just happen overnight, nor was such an opinion formed without any foundation. I have posted example after example on this board documenting why I have formed such an opinion about certain aspects of the bureaucracy in WDFW.

Certainly not all of WDFW personal are screwed up, but after working with many of your staff members for over 18 years, I do believe that you guys have a real problem in your top management. This is the place where WDFW policies are formed and implemented.

It appears now that no mater who becomes your director, your still stalemated by the "old watch" and their lasting influence that they have maintained on any directors decision making ability. You been around long enough to know about these old guards, and there polices that they continue to promote. It just never ends until they have all retired, and then we must deal with these same clowns as "consultants" who hire out their expertise to huge Power companies such as Tacoma, Pacificcorp, etc, etc.

Yea, one does get a little tired of seeing the internal games that WDFW is so well noted for and yes, it does make one form some pretty harsh opinion of WDFW. Even those I have worked with many good WDFW personal, it still does not change my point of view about how screwed up WDFW really is.

Yes, I have tried to work within, and I am still trying to work within WDFW, but it just seems to never get any better. WDFW has become Washington's leading bureaucracy nightmare to its own people who they must depend upon for support. I can think of numerous examples WDFW inability to safe guard our resources or to enhance our sport fishing opportunity (which are both legal mandates). Here are two that come to mind as I am writing this reply.

One example is the "Wallace Gravel Pit" access issue. Key WDFW staff were notified in writing and verbally told of this issue numerous times starting back in June of 2001.

WDFW has spent well over $40,000 to procure this public fishing easement for the fishermen. They paid the owner for the easement and to build the road that lead to the river and even posted it with a sign saying that it was a "WDFW Public Fishing Area".

So 17 years later, the same guy who sold the game department the fishing easement comes backs, removes the signs, and then precedes to extend his gravel mining operation over the right of way and remove the easement road by mining all the same material that the game department paid him to put down. Worse yet, WDFW has allowed this jerk to gate off the easement entrance so that the only way to reach the river bank now is to walk over four thousand feet (that’s 4,000 feet) to reach the river bank to fish. That's a bunch bull $hit and in my opinion, both the owner and someone in WDFW ought to spend a few days in a ceil! I am still working as I write with WDFW on this issue, but it's already been thee years.

Second one that comes to my mind was the Cascade Aqua Farm fiasco on the Tilton River. There, WDFW allowed a private fish farmer to install a Atlantic Salmon Fish Farm and place a 3 foot retaining wall all the way across the Tilton River so that his projects water intake would remain stable. In tern for getting his water and destroying a bunch of wet land, and building the retaining structure, top WDFW only required him to mitigate by using his poop discharge channel for mitigation purposes. The field staff for WDFW wrote numerous letters to their superiors and addressed their concerns like you wouldn't believe!

All of the field "biologists" were 100% opposed to using his poop channel as migration, but they were overruled by key up top WDFW staff. Shortly after the field biologist had written to his superiors documenting his concerns about this project, He was transferred to Eastern Washington! Yea, you can say that he "wanted to" go there, but the word inside WDFW was that he rocked the boat of his bosses just a little too much! And if you think that I am putting a spin on this, or that I am not telling the trust, I suggest that you ask Salmo G about this "stinking issue" He was in on it and tried his best to help as he could, but WDFW and their clone WDOE out voted him. Now every year, they are catching Atlantic smolts at the Mayfield Dam fish collection facilities which just so happens to be where the Tilton Rivers dumps into!

Now I wonder how those Atlantics are getting there.....must be the birds are bringing them there!


So yea, I guess you could say that I may have formed a little coloring towards the WDFW!

If you need more reasons, it sure won't take me long to write about them!

Smalma, in this case it's not one bad apple that's going to spoil the barrel; it's the "barrel" that is ruining all the apples

Your just one of those poor apples in a rotten barrel !!


Cowlitzfisherman