Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Say no to F&G fee increase

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Just say no to the Fish and Game fee increase. Soon, Fish and Game will be asking the Idaho Legislature for permission to charge Idaho sportsmen a 20 percent or greater fee increase.

What gall. Fish and Game has failed the sportsmen of Idaho on several fronts. First and foremost, wolves! In the mid 1990s, Director Conley caved in to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other ecos, and permitted the introduction of Canadian grays. To this day, their population explosion has only been matched by the vicious decline of Idaho's ungulate herds.

Second. Fish and Game is funded primarily by sportsmen's purchase of licenses, tags, etc. Those funds are to be used for the perpetuation of Idaho's wildlife, yet many of those funds make their way to non-hunting and non-fishing programs.

In addition, Fish and Game is limited to 528 full-time employees. However, they circumvent that limit by hiring many temporary employees, most of which qualify for full benefits. Fiscal year 2010 includes 424 temporary employees with full benefits. If that's not a "bean counter's shell-game," I don't know what is.

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Sportsmen, Fish and Game has not been a good guardian of your wildlife resources. You are urged to contact your representative within the next two weeks and urge them to deny the department's rate increase request.

Lowell Rosanbalm

Boise