So this morning, through channels in Helena FWP, I find out that the Assistant Director of FWP has directed most of his senior staff to attend a two-day meeting that includes the FWP Assistant Director and the Montana Outfiitters and Guides Association, for which no public notice was given, no information was provided, no announcement or invitation to other vested parties, or anything that complies with the "Open Meeting" statutes of Montana.
The FWP Assistant Director has called every one of his seven Regional Directors to Helena for this two-day meeting with Montana Guides and Outfitters Association. It starts today and continues to tomorrow.
Wonder why a public meeting with MOGA needs to be kept so quiet?
Wonder why we hunters need to pay to have all seven Regional Directors spend two days in travel/meetings with only MOGA folks invited?
Wonder why none of the hunting groups who represent some of the 200,000 resident hunters can't even get a return phone call from the Director or Assistant Director, let alone a two-day "quasi private" meeting that includes the seven Regional Directors from across the state, yet MOGA and their 200+/- members can get a meeting for two days?
Anyone know anything more about this? If you have details, post them up here.
Any of you know what this is all about and why the FWP attendees were told to keep this meeting a secret?
It is a shame to see so many good FWP working in the field on behalf of hunters being lead by a small cadre of politically appointed leaders in Helena; leadership mostly new to FWP; in some cases, new to Montana; and whose actions give hunters and anglers reason to wonder of personal political ambitions some of these leaders may have.
MOGA is surely a group FWP should be talking to, but when all Regional Directors are required to be there, for two days, and none of the hunting community is invited, it smells bad. In fact, I think it stinks.
Maybe nothing is "afoul," but to hold these kind of meetings in such a secretive manner, to ask so much of the FWP management staff to be there, and to keep it to such a small constituent group, raises a lot of eyebrows. Secrecy fosters suspicion, whether valid or not. Any leader of a state agency should know that such secrecy is not good for the "open and full disclosure" requirements imposed on those acting as fiduciaries of the public interest.
Since this is technically a publc meeting under Montana law, even if not announced as such, I would hope none of the attendees are silenced as to what is discussed. Hopefully some questions are answered when the FWP brass wraps up their little Kumbayah session with MOGA.
The FWP Assistant Director has called every one of his seven Regional Directors to Helena for this two-day meeting with Montana Guides and Outfitters Association. It starts today and continues to tomorrow.
Wonder why a public meeting with MOGA needs to be kept so quiet?
Wonder why we hunters need to pay to have all seven Regional Directors spend two days in travel/meetings with only MOGA folks invited?
Wonder why none of the hunting groups who represent some of the 200,000 resident hunters can't even get a return phone call from the Director or Assistant Director, let alone a two-day "quasi private" meeting that includes the seven Regional Directors from across the state, yet MOGA and their 200+/- members can get a meeting for two days?
Anyone know anything more about this? If you have details, post them up here.
Any of you know what this is all about and why the FWP attendees were told to keep this meeting a secret?
It is a shame to see so many good FWP working in the field on behalf of hunters being lead by a small cadre of politically appointed leaders in Helena; leadership mostly new to FWP; in some cases, new to Montana; and whose actions give hunters and anglers reason to wonder of personal political ambitions some of these leaders may have.
MOGA is surely a group FWP should be talking to, but when all Regional Directors are required to be there, for two days, and none of the hunting community is invited, it smells bad. In fact, I think it stinks.
Maybe nothing is "afoul," but to hold these kind of meetings in such a secretive manner, to ask so much of the FWP management staff to be there, and to keep it to such a small constituent group, raises a lot of eyebrows. Secrecy fosters suspicion, whether valid or not. Any leader of a state agency should know that such secrecy is not good for the "open and full disclosure" requirements imposed on those acting as fiduciaries of the public interest.
Since this is technically a publc meeting under Montana law, even if not announced as such, I would hope none of the attendees are silenced as to what is discussed. Hopefully some questions are answered when the FWP brass wraps up their little Kumbayah session with MOGA.
