I really disagree that it's worked well. Our salmon crisis hasn't improved to any real extent the Columbia River fishing priorities haven't been followed,Puget Sound fishing harvest isn't apportioned according to Supreme Court decisions, the Columbia gillnet buy back turned out to be a mess, predation by seals and sea lions has basically been ignored, the pheasant farm has to close, fish hatcheries close and license fees rose while participation continues to shrink. Regulations hae gone wild (I counted more than two hundred separate regulations for the Columbia!) and emergency regulation continue to mess up people's plans. The whale regulation is not enforceable. The list could go on.

You got right Tug.

Tug,

I guess I meant that the Commission concept worked well from its inception in 1935 until, well, until the merger.

I think you're right

WDFW CONTINUES TO BE A ZERO.

We had more fish when most of our rivers were being used as splash dam log flow.

This cannot be emphasized enough. Organizations represented by sportsmen generally advocate for conservation and balancing the desires of sportsmen to recreate and maximize opportunities while also being mindful of sustainability and balance for the health of wildlife to ensure those opportunities can stay. Organizations such as Washington Wildlife First are extremists who advocate exclusively for preservation and eliminating sustainable usage of resources by sportsmen. Sportsmen are mindful of the needs of wildlife, but the extremists aren’t mindful of allowing sustainable usage.

The mission of WDFW is to preserve, protect and perpetuate fish, wildlife and ecosystems while providing sustainable fish and wildlife recreational and commercial opportunities. WDFW recently has catered to the wishes of extremists groups at the expense of science and recreational opportunities. Organizations favoring sportsmen more closely align with WDFW’s mission statement. WDFW is failing its mission and needs to rebalance.


Streamer

Well said. And now they are trying to push through a state wide income tax. Without a vote of the people.

"The people" voted for their representatives, they voted for their governor. We had our votes. Our government is based on sending people to represent us and not have every bill go before the electorate before passage. That would never work.

It’s important to note how influential our elected officials are in this process. Generally, Conservatives are more supportive of sportsmen and maximized opportunities than Democrats. If you want to see change, maybe consider voting for people who align with your interests instead of your party. This is another example of voting against your own interests as sportsmen and people in this forum that clam they are fiscally conservative but prioritize bizarre social issues above anything else. Stop shooting yourself in the foot and complaining about it.


Streamer

Insley was absolutely the worst governor for fish and wildlife that wev'e
EVER had, no doubt. Ferguson is well on his way to being just as bad. In the past few years it seems that Republicans in the house and senate have been better than the "D"s, but not in every instance. Most of our problems are of our own making. We don't speak in a loud enough voice! Plus we aren't unified in what we want. We absolutely need a powerful lobbying group to lobby both sides of the aisle. There are a hell of a lot more fishermen than there are fire fighters, and through lobbying they get what they want. If salmon fisherman donated just twenty bucks apiece, the cost of a good restaurant breakfast, the two hundred thousand of us would have a war chest of four million! We could change a lot. But which organization? Hell, PSA and CCA don't agree with each other. We need an independent lobbying group that all can contribute to. Trout Unlimited, NSIA, fly fishers, etc. It's doable.

Well said, Tug. Sportsmen are very splintered and easily dismissed as vary small and marginal. For example, I really don't care about the catchable trout program/lake planting. Not my game. But I support it for those who participate.