By Emma Cotton
Gov. Phil Scott of Vermont recently appointed three new members to the state’s Fish and Wildlife Board. “All three cite a love of hunting that began during childhood.” Qualified candidates submitted applications – yet never received any reply. Appointments to commissions need to be transparent and follow due process.
By Fred Koontz & Adrian Treves
This op-ed examines Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources and its priorities (which are at odds with current human values and biodiversity needs). “Clarifying the DNR’s mandate around a top priority of conserving all wildlife for all people will provide a unifying direction for the floundering board and strengthen the department’s biodiversity mission. Changing the department’s purpose recognizes that government agencies require modifications as society’s needs and public values change.”
By Michael Doyle
TUS Fish and Wildlife Service plans to open and expand hunting and fishing at 19 wildlife refuges which will open up 54,000 acres of land to hunting and fishing. While the federal agency will limit these opportunities to non-lead shells, ammo, and tackle, opposing senators have argued that “Policies or actions that reduce or limit sportsmen activities necessarily implicate wildlife conservation programs by affecting state agencies’ revenue.” These legislators are holding funding hostage in wildlife policymaking by urging the FWS Director not to ban lead.
By Ashley Stimson
The California Fish and Game Commission (CFGC) recently designated four species of bumble bee as endangered species after California’s Superior Court ruled they fell under a broad definition of what constitutes a “fish”.
By Robert Toricelli
In this op-ed, former U.S. senator Torricelli makes the case for reform of the New Jersey Fish and Wildlife Council, explaining that many of the state’s regulations are not based on legitimate science.
By Walter Medwid
In this op-ed Medwid writes, “Vermonters should rethink the focus of the Fish & Wildlife Department. Threats to biodiversity and shifting human values challenge the underpinnings of the department and the Fish & Wildlife Board…Whose values count most in determining Vermont’s fish and wildlife priorities, regulations, and public policies?”
By Fred Koontz.
In this op-ed by former Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission member Fred Koontz, he describes the current state of the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife as a ‘political quagmire.’ “States are obligated to protect wildlife for current and future generations. The sad truth is that we are failing.”
By Chris Smith.
On April 1st, Roxy’s Law, which bans traps, snares, and poisons on public lands, went into effect in New Mexico. Despite this progress, New Mexico isn’t the beacon of wildlife management that it should be.
By Charles Fox.
Last year, NM passed Roxy’s Law, which will ban traps, snares, and poisons on public lands. The state Legislature also recently banned coyote-killing contests. However, the Department of Game and Fish allowed these cruel practices to continue for years despite massive opposition. “The Game Department’s backward policies are badly out of step with mainstream society and show little sign of improving. There is no excuse for repeating the mistakes and abuses of the past, no matter how longstanding.”
By David Stalling.
In the most recent post from his blog “From The Wild Side: Wild Thoughts from an Untamed Heart,” David discusses the immediate need for wildlife governance reform, citing the specific atrocities happening right now in the state of Montana.
By Deborah Slicer. Originally published in the Missoulian.
This article examines Montana’s Fish, Wildlife, and Parks commission and the dysfunctionality of the state’s current wildlife management system.
By Kevin Bixby and Jesse Deubel. Originally published in The Albuquerque Journal.
Following the governor’s latest dismissal of one of her appointed members, there are currently three empty seats on the 7-member New Mexico State Game Commission. This op-ed explores the need to either abolish or reform the commission.
This radio story from Public News Service features Wildlife for All Executive Director Kevin Bixby and Board member Adrian Treves. This story covering the gray wolf relisting decision looks beyond the immediate ruling to the systemic problems with wildlife management today.
Wildlife for All commends Governor Jay Inslee for appointing three qualified Commissioners with substantial professional expertise in wildlife science and policy to the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission. The Commission sets wildlife policy for the state.
Members of the Washington State Senate introduced several bills that would make changes to how and who selects the members who serve on the state Fish and Wildlife Commission. One bill would give authority to the Legislature to fill empty commission seats if the Gov doesn’t act within 12 months. The other bill would take away the power of the fish and wildlife commission to hire the Department director and give it to the elected State Lands Commissioner. It would also take away the power of the governor to appoint commissioners, and give it to the State Lands commissioner.
Less than half of New Mexico’s native fish species are protected by law, yet the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish wants to introduce another nonnative fish species into the state. A department spokesperson could not point to any conservation benefits when questioned about the introduction of this species.
Wildlife for All’s Executive Director Kevin Bixby and Donna Stevens of the Upper Gila Watershed Alliance recently had an in-depth conversation about the status of wildlife protection in New Mexico.
The Species in Peril project at the University of New Mexico (UNM) is a public service initiative. The project was founded in April 2020 to foster conversations, creative production, public scholarship, and grassroots initiatives to bring attention to the intensifying crisis of biological annihilation, which includes human-caused species extinctions, mass die-offs and massacres. In their most recent newsletter they gave Wildlife for All a shoutout.
By Eli Francovich. The Spokesman-Review.
This article highlights an important example of a wildlife commission following the will of the public. Due to an unfilled commission seat, the vote ended in a 4-4 tie putting the controversial bear hunt on hold. The commissioners that voted against the hunt questioned WDFW’s population data and cited public opinion as a main reason for their vote.
By Michael Doyle. Greenwire.
This story is noteworthy because indigenous activists are forthrightly declaring wolf management by the states to be a “social justice” issue. We couldn’t agree more.