Check

 

Defiance Boats!

LURECHARGE!

THE PP OUTDOOR FORUMS

Kast Gear!

Power Pro Shimano Reels G Loomis Rods

  Willie boats! Puffballs!

 

Three Rivers Marine

 

 
Topic Options
Rate This Topic
#975756 - 03/31/17 06:51 AM WDF&W BUDGET
Rivrguy Offline
River Nutrients

Registered: 03/03/09
Posts: 4393
Loc: Somewhere on the planet,I hope

With things heating up I thought the WDF&W budget brawl might be of interest. So first up a press release from the Senate.


Senate budget protects hatcheries, begins Fish and Wildlife turnaround

March 21, 2017

The release of the Senate budget proposal today marks the beginning of a positive turnaround of the troubled Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). The budget provides safeguards for crucial agency functions, such as hatcheries, while initiating the rebuilding of an agency in crisis.

Agency management recently revealed to legislative leaders a significant budget shortfall. Because of this, a major hunting and fishing license fee increase plan was proposed by WDFW to increase agency revenue.

“The agency wanted to correct this by initiating a hefty increase in hunting and fishing license fees without the promise for more opportunities,” said Sen. Kirk Pearson, R-Monroe, chairman of the Senate Natural Resources and Parks Committee.

Pearson received hundreds of letter in opposition to WDFW’s fee increase proposal from across the state.

“The problem is not a money problem, it’s a leadership problem,” said Pearson.

The Senate budget provides $5 million from the general fund to protect hatcheries and core agency functions while bringing in outside performance and management support.

“It’s important that we provide stability to the agency while we begin a much-needed overhaul that will help protect and grow the state’s hunting and fishing opportunities,” said Pearson. “This budget keeps the core of the agency in place while we correct the past problems that placed the agency in this situation and help them get on stronger footing.”

The budget proposal also provides funding for an outside consultant to identify and fix management and organizational issues while running a zero-based budget exercise to address ongoing budget issues.

“This budget for WDFW reflects the needs of an agency in crisis,” said Pearson. “Dwindling fish populations, diseased and scattered wildlife and animal conflict problems have set back the WDFW’s mission over the past few years. By giving them the tools they need to be successful, we can protect and grow hunting and fishing opportunities both now and in the future.”


Now next up is what I am told is a WDF&W internal memo that was going to go public and likely was intended with the wide dispersion of the e mail.
PDR Response (DFW)



From: Sent: Subject:

Unsworth, James W (DFW) Wednesda,yMarch 22, 2017 2:15 PM Senate budget



To all WDFW staff:

Yesterday you received a message from Joe Stohr that described the legislative budget development process and timetable. Within an hour or two, the chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, Sen. John Braun, released his budget proposal, which received a public hearing yesterday afternoon.

Also yesterday, we received a news reiease in support of Senator Braun's proposal iss•ued by one of his colleagues, Sen. Kirk Pearson, chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Parks Committee.

Senator Braun's proposal contains a few positive elements, including a $5 million one-time increase and $1.5 million for wildlife conflict transformation, both from the State General Fund. But overall, it would not enable us to continue current service levels.

It's important for us to recognize that this proposal represents just one early step in the budget development process. While it presents significant challenges, we are used to responding to budget proposals that require revision.

However, the release from Senator Pearson is in some ways more concerning.

Without citing any evidence, it describes WDFW as an "agency in crisis." It calls into question our performance and claims that we have proposed large license fee increases "without the promise for more opportunities."

In fact, all of our hunting and fishing license fee proposals were developed to ensure the department has the funding needed to maintain and expand commercial and recreational opportunities in the future. It is simply wrong to suggest otherwise.

This agency has made remarkable strides in recovering from the deep cuts imposed by the Legislature following the Great Recession. We've never fully recovered the lost funding, but through your efforts we have made performance improvements in every area of our operation.

When I meet with you and travel around the state to see your efforts and that of our many partners, I am continually struck by your commitment to the people and resources of this state. You make critically important contributions to our economy, the health of our communities, and to our identity as Washingtonians.

Of course there's always room for improvement, which is one of the primary reasons we initiated the Wild Future initiative. And some of the one-time funding proposed by Senator Braun might make it possible for us to conduct targeted performance reviews, such as an efficiency evaluation of our hatchery operations.

We know the state faces a very difficult budget challenge, and that some spending cuts are quite possible. But it's not right to justify budget cuts by criticizing the people who deliver important services.

I want to assure you that we will continue to talk to the Legislature, the Governor, and the residents of our state in the days and weeks to come.
Sincerely, Jim

PS: You can stay informed by referring to the resources available on the Wild Future information page on the Staff Communications SharePoint site. Use this link to set the Staff Communication page as a default tab on your browser.
_________________________
Dazed and confused.............the fog is closing in

Top
#975767 - 03/31/17 12:01 PM Re: WDF&W BUDGET [Re: Rivrguy]
Misguided Offline
Returning Adult

Registered: 09/27/08
Posts: 340
Loc: SWWA
It's refreshing to see that legislators see WDFW for their wayward actions & lackluster performance. Sure Unsworth is going to defend his people but willing to throw the public who use the resources under the bus (huge rate increase)!!!

Accountability to a higher standard should be the top priority for all GOV agencies and take the under preforming lackies to the mat.


Edited by Misguided (03/31/17 12:02 PM)
_________________________
I Brake for Salmon & Steelhead!!!!!

2nd Generation Army Veteran and Damn Proud of it.

Misguided was the name of my 1st drift boat, I am not to be associated with LAWLESSNESS!!!!

Top
#975771 - 03/31/17 01:52 PM Re: WDF&W BUDGET [Re: Rivrguy]
NickD90 Offline
Shooting Instructor for hire

Registered: 10/26/10
Posts: 7260
Loc: Snohomish, WA
“The problem is not a money problem, it’s a leadership problem,” said Pearson.

Hell hath frozen over. A politician from Washington State has actually said those words. Impressive!
_________________________
“If the military were fighting for our freedom, they would be storming Capitol Hill”. – FleaFlickr02

Top
#975814 - 04/01/17 10:35 AM Re: WDF&W BUDGET [Re: NickD90]
Rivrguy Offline
River Nutrients

Registered: 03/03/09
Posts: 4393
Loc: Somewhere on the planet,I hope

Here is some more that is running around. Now before one takes off out the door hair on fire screaming remember this. Between 50 plus% to 86% of Chinook are mowed down in Alaska & BC. You can spend billions more and nothing would change as to fish in our streams. Second under the last prez we got a LOT of preferential treatment as this is a PC state ( well PS the rest not so much ) which was a fit. The present one not so much. So take a read but frankly the so called habitat restoration industry ( tribal definition from TV ) has not produced much if gauged on cost benefit only. Oh results means more fish to a stream.

By Chelsea Harvey March 31 at 2:23 PM
Salmon are loaded onto trucks at the Coleman National Fish Hatchery in Anderson, Calif., in 2014. (Andreas Fuhrmann/AP/Record Searchlight)

A near-term spending bill proposed this week by the Trump administration would eliminate funding for a federal grant program that supports the recovery of declining Pacific salmon populations. And this could leave states scrambling to fund conservation and research projects they’d already planned for the rest of this year.
The proposal is part of a stopgap budget plan from the White House for the rest of fiscal year 2017, requesting $33 billion in additional funding for defense and a border wall, while also calling for $18 billion in cuts to other federal programs. It’s a separate plan from the 2018 budget proposal revealed earlier this month.

The Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund is one of the programs on the chopping block. It’s a federal grant program, managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, that provides funding for Pacific salmon and steelhead trout recovery efforts in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California and Idaho.

The program’s long-term future may also be uncertain. An outline of the Trump administration’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2018 calls for $250 million in cuts to NOAA grants and contracts, which may include funding for the salmon conservation effort.

The program was established in 2000 in response to significant fish population declines in the Pacific coastal states, in large part because of human-induced habitat changes such as dam building and other development. NOAA currently lists 28 individual salmon and steelhead populations as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Salmon fill an important ecological niche along the Pacific Coast, serving as a key food source for certain endangered orca populations, such as the Southern Resident population, which spends several months each year in Washington’s Puget Sound. They also have great cultural importance to Native American groups, “many of whom have treaty-based fishing rights,” according to Kaleen Cottingham, director of the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office, which manages the state’s salmon recovery efforts.

Much of the Pacific salmon that’s sold in supermarkets today was farm-raised or originated in a hatchery before being released into the wild. Restoring wild populations could eventually allow commercial fisheries to safely harvest more fish. This could also reduce the need for salmon hatcheries, which some experts say may actually contribute to wild population declines by producing fish that compete with wild salmon for resources.

The recovery fund was allocated $65 million for fiscal year 2017, and the money goes to recovery efforts managed by state governments and federally recognized Native American tribes. Projects eligible to receive funding can include water restoration efforts, population monitoring, research aimed at better understanding the causes of fish declines, or efforts to improve the sustainability of hatcheries. But the new budget plan would zero out its funding for the rest of the year.
While $65 million spread across five states may not sound like much, especially compared to $18 billion in total proposed budget cuts, the money goes a long way, Cottingham said.
The program leverages significant extra cash in the way of matching funds from state governments and private sources. Washington, the state that receives the greatest amount of funding under the program, is required to bring in a 33 percent match in funding, Cottingham said.

The program has awarded a total of $1.2 billion to states and tribes since 2000 and leveraged an additional $1.4 billion in matching funds, according to NOAA. That’s good for recovery efforts and also helps state economies. NOAA found that each $1 million investment from the salmon recovery fund leads to 17 new jobs and $1.86 million in added economic activity.

There are other benefits. Cottingham said efforts to improve river flow and other landscaping projects can help reduce the risk of flooding. Eliminating the program — even if only for the rest of this fiscal year — could cost jobs, hurt the economy and disrupt or delay numerous projects that had already been planned for the coming months. “We would probably do less than half of the projects that we’re taking applications for right now for on-the-ground projects,” Cottingham said of Washington state.
The stopgap budget plan suggests that, after the salmon recovery fund has been eliminated, funding for these projects be coordinated with another NOAA species recovery program.
But this program already tends to receive far less in funding than the salmon recovery fund. The agency noted that its allocation for 2017 would be no more than $16 million, and that new awards would likely range up to about $300,000 each.

Extended cuts to the salmon conservation effort would almost certainly be challenged by litigation from states, tribes and environmental groups, Cottingham said, potentially with support from Democrats and Republicans.

“At least in the state of Washington, this is a bipartisan congressional approach,” she said. “We get support from our delegation, regardless of party, and we hope to continue that into the future.”
_________________________
Dazed and confused.............the fog is closing in

Top
#975817 - 04/01/17 11:34 AM Re: WDF&W BUDGET [Re: Rivrguy]
Carcassman Offline
River Nutrients

Registered: 11/21/07
Posts: 7412
Loc: Olema,California,Planet Earth
I see that the Fed's may significantly cut back on funds and that is a bad thing. But, it was WA and its cities and counties that approved much of the habitat destruction. Why should somebody in Kansas have to pay for Thurston's County's decision to bulkhead the shoreline or WADOT's decision to block passage at culverts.

I can see billing the Feds for Federal decisions but we, collectively, made this mess here and it should be we, collectively, who fix it. Accountability, it seems, is something we don't want to consider.

Top
#975818 - 04/01/17 12:02 PM Re: WDF&W BUDGET [Re: Rivrguy]
DrifterWA Offline
River Nutrients

Registered: 04/25/00
Posts: 5074
Loc: East of Aberdeen, West of Mont...
I think that until there is a change in Washington DC, any chance that Trump has, he'll try to make sure that Federal funds do not get allocated to "our State".

Time tells all............
_________________________
"Worse day sport fishing, still better than the best day working"

"I thought growing older, would take longer"

Top
#975819 - 04/01/17 12:02 PM Re: WDF&W BUDGET [Re: Rivrguy]
Bay wolf Offline
Repeat Spawner

Registered: 10/26/12
Posts: 1075
Loc: Graham, WA
A State Gaming license would be a great way to recoup a large percent of that money. Require a gambling license (like a fishing license) for citizens who wish to travel to a "sovereign nation" and visit a casino. I think the cost of the license should be modeled to the cost of a resident combination fishing license!
_________________________
"Forgiveness is between them and God. My job is to arrange the meeting."

1Sgt U.S. Army (Ret)

Top
#975831 - 04/01/17 04:42 PM Re: WDF&W BUDGET [Re: ]
DrifterWA Offline
River Nutrients

Registered: 04/25/00
Posts: 5074
Loc: East of Aberdeen, West of Mont...

Originally Posted By: stam
Too many employees getting paid too much can wipe out any budget.


I agree.....I'm a thinking that WDFW is top heavy with too many chiefs, that try to look busy, just hanging on waiting for "retirement".
_________________________
"Worse day sport fishing, still better than the best day working"

"I thought growing older, would take longer"

Top
#976365 - 04/17/17 06:10 PM Re: WDF&W BUDGET [Re: ]
HOOKUP Offline
Returning Adult

Registered: 01/26/09
Posts: 372
Originally Posted By: stam
Too many employees getting paid too much can wipe out any budget.


The problem I'm guessing with the WDFW is similar to the problem I run into in the state agency I work in.

There is some brilliant up and coming folks who are quickly snuffed out by the cling on relationship owed legacy employees who run the agency.

Public scrutiny is the best cure it causes what state agencies hate, change and being held accountable. There were many employees who retired from the WDFW gifting resources to commercial industries leaving the mess of a department we have now.

Top
#976370 - 04/17/17 09:51 PM Re: WDF&W BUDGET [Re: Rivrguy]
eyeFISH Offline
Ornamental Rice Bowl

Registered: 11/24/03
Posts: 12766
Yeah man.... just look at the shake-up in Region 5 in the past year. Historically thats' been the biggest GIMME to the commies. But the old guard has pretty much cycled thru.... Norman, Ehlke, LeFleur, Roler.

A wise man once said the best way to kill the snake is to cut its head off.

Words to live by....
_________________________
"Let every angler who loves to fish think what it would mean to him to find the fish were gone." (Zane Grey)

"If you don't kill them, they will spawn." (Carcassman)


The Keen Eye MD
Long Live the Kings!

Top
#976469 - 04/22/17 01:35 AM Re: WDF&W BUDGET [Re: Rivrguy]
Misguided Offline
Returning Adult

Registered: 09/27/08
Posts: 340
Loc: SWWA
It's not like the billions already spent on salmon in the PNW has paid off handsomely has it. Time to quit wasting it & bust the Alaskan commercials death grip on OUR FISH!!!!
_________________________
I Brake for Salmon & Steelhead!!!!!

2nd Generation Army Veteran and Damn Proud of it.

Misguided was the name of my 1st drift boat, I am not to be associated with LAWLESSNESS!!!!

Top
#976471 - 04/22/17 07:19 AM Re: WDF&W BUDGET [Re: Misguided]
Rivrguy Offline
River Nutrients

Registered: 03/03/09
Posts: 4393
Loc: Somewhere on the planet,I hope
Might want to take a look at where the majority of AK commercials reside and / or are based. Way closer to home than you think.
_________________________
Dazed and confused.............the fog is closing in

Top

Search

Site Links
Home
Our Washington Fishing
Our Alaska Fishing
Reports
Rates
Contact Us
About Us
Recipes
Photos / Videos
Visit us on Facebook
Today's Birthdays
3Gonads, herm
Recent Gallery Pix
hatchery steelhead
Hatchery Releases into the Pacific and Harvest
Who's Online
2 registered (stonefish, steely slammer), 1056 Guests and 2 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
John Boob, Lawrence, I'm Still RichG, feyt, Freezeout
11498 Registered Users
Top Posters
Todd 28170
Dan S. 17149
Sol Duc 16138
The Moderator 14486
Salmo g. 13520
eyeFISH 12766
STRIKE ZONE 12107
Dogfish 10979
ParaLeaks 10513
Jerry Garcia 9160
Forum Stats
11498 Members
16 Forums
63773 Topics
645297 Posts

Max Online: 3001 @ 01/28/20 02:48 PM

Join the PP forums.

It's quick, easy, and always free!

Working for the fish and our future fishing opportunities:

The Wild Steelhead Coalition

The Photo & Video Gallery. Nearly 1200 images from our fishing trips! Tips, techniques, live weight calculator & more in the Fishing Resource Center. The time is now to get prime dates for 2018 Olympic Peninsula Winter Steelhead , don't miss out!.

| HOME | ALASKA FISHING | WASHINGTON FISHING | RIVER REPORTS | FORUMS | FISHING RESOURCE CENTER | CHARTER RATES | CONTACT US | WHAT ABOUT BOB? | PHOTO & VIDEO GALLERY | LEARN ABOUT THE FISH | RECIPES | SITE HELP & FAQ |