Yes, for heaven's sake.....way, way too much drivel about Heaven's Sake Wildlife - but that is another story.

Commission was way behind schedule so they cancelled the additional input on crab. With the information provided by the AG's representative further explaining the Chinook Management Plan most of my questions were answered. However, that did not eliminate my concerns about details of the plan.

The Plan was actually touted by the AG rep as an improvement to NOF as it now has judicial oversight. We'll see on that.

What was of interest was Commissioner Carpenter taking strong exception to the Department having not included the Commission in the development of the Plan. Since most of my prepared comments were OBE by that time I focused on supporting Commissioner Carpenter's comments and opining that the Commission (my Commission and your Commission) was established by Initiative with a primary duty of developing policy. By not including the Commission in development of the Plan (essentially policy as it covers 10 years) the Department essentially undermined the Commission's role and responsibilities and marginalized its stakeholders.

I was able to finish up within my 3 minutes by saying that even if the Plan provides for a better NOF process it does not eliminate the need to make the NOF process a public process - even if that is limited to a live feed.

Hope more folks are able to attend and offer their comments on this very important (critical) issue. And if you aren't able to attend in person send the Commission your thoughts: commission@dfw.wa.gov.