I have worked closely with Dave Parrish, former Magic Valley regional supervisor of the Idaho Fish and Game, during my seven and one-half year tenure as Blaine County Commissioner. There is no one more professional in the field. Dave and his staff always worked hard with the county to achieve a balance between local development and wildlife protection and they were diligent in meeting with stakeholders to solve problems collaboratively. I could always count on sound science and civil discourse even when there were disagreements. Dave Parrish led the Magic Valley region well and he will be missed. I was disappointed and alarmed that Dave was demoted by Fish and Game in a purely political move. Parrish and his staff came under intense heat in 2007 when the Magic Valley office opposed Cove Springs south of Bellevue because of its negative wildlife impacts. In fact, Parrish's job was threatened then when the Cove developers complained to the Governor and his Fish and Game supervisors. This summer, Dave spoke out about the wildlife impacts of a large proposed wind farm, and that brought the hatchet down, despite the fact Dave led successful negotiations on hundreds of other projects. Dave Parrish's demotion now proves that developers, ranchers and even elected officials such as State House Assistant Majority Leader Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, and Sen. Bert Brackett, R-Rogerson (whose nephew has a financial interest in the proposed project) have the upper hand in Idaho on wildlife decisions, not science. This decision sends a strong message to the Fish and Game staff to keep their mouth shut even if wildlife and fish species are threatened. To me this is tragic and short sighted. Governor Otter, the Fish and Game Commission, Department and elected officials should remember the tremendous economic gains from having an abundant and diverse fish and wildlife population and change their political focus from the gains of a few developers.
Sarah Michael
Ketchum
