Barchaser--Like you, I read posts on this blog occasionally, and add my point of view sparingly. Now and then, I feel compelled to respond to what I read. Your letter to the Dept. of the Interior figuratively grabbed me right by the short hairs. In a modest fashion and with a comparative number of few words, you summed up the scenario that sees hundreds of thousands of recreational stakeholders, patrons, stewards and supporters in this State feeling disconnected, and left to twist in the wind.
Any way you cut it, WDFW has failed miserably to put its stakeholders before all else...and to simply demand that the Federal Govt. come to our State, and enforce the treaties they made on our behalf. The fact that the Director and Commissioners have been put in an untenable position is beyond doubt, and most of us get that...but what really frosts my a$$ is the obvious reluctance to go to the source of the problem, then deal with it firmly and directly. Two AAGs (Asst. Attorneys General) are pulling down big bucks to handle the legalities involved in this mess. They are overwhelmed, they claim, by the burden of that responsibility and finding any practical path to success. However, Judge Boldt and his decision made the law clear and simple.
Your letter served a worthwhile purpose, and a compliment of many more like it would certainly add to your cause...but the right letter(s) and actions by the right people--the ones hired and paid to protect our collective rights under the law--could, and should, make the difference. For years this problem has festered, so why has the State Attorney General's Office turned a blind eye to doing their job? Is this lack of action an effort to provide some level of job security? If so...it should be the other way around...