Shame on the Kenai River Sportfishing Association
Mark Richards
April 30, 2013
Original Article Source: Alaska Dispatch
I’m no stranger to fish and wildlife politics, but the Kenai River Sportfishing Association’s (KRSA) recent successful efforts to oust Board of Fish (BOF) member Vince Webster by preventing his reappointment has to take the cake in terms of smear campaigns.
From the start, KRSA’s “action alert” letter to members and legislators was a complete fabrication. They based the crux of their opposition to Mr. Webster based on the outcome of a proposal put forward by the Alaska Department of Fish & Game. In their action alert, KRSA claimed that Mr. Webster “participated in precariously and unnecessarily lowering the escapement goal of Kenai River king salmon during a time of record low abundance and uncertain future production.”
Unmentioned was the fact that the BOF voted unanimously, 7-0, after weighing all the data and opinion of biologists and managers, to accept the recommendations of the Department and lower the escapement goal.
Did the other six members of the board not also participate in “precariously and unnecessarily” lowering the escapement goal? KRSA’s action alert surely makes it sound like Mr. Webster’s vote was an anomaly. And hypocritically, KRSA supported the reappointment of another BOF member who voted the exact same way.
Due to copyright law, the Alaska Salmon Alliance cannot repost full articles. You can read the rest of this editorial here.
Mark Richards is co-chair of Alaska Backcountry Hunters & Anglers www.alaskabackcountryhunters.org
The views expressed here are the writer’s own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints.
As with all the articles we link to on the ASA website, this report does not necessarily reflect the views of the Alaska Salmon Alliance.