Washington Hunter
Well-known member
Published April 08, 2006
Elk problem spurs move by Orcutt
BY ADAM WILSON
THE OLYMPIAN
An irate legislator says the head of the Fish and Wildlife Department should be fired.
The director in question says he wishes the legislator would talk to him about concerns before publicly calling for his termination.
The disagreement is about elk.
The department is responsible for dozens of elk starving to death in the Mount St. Helen’s Wildlife Area, contends Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama.
“They’re telling me the area will sustain 400 elk, but there are 600 there,” said Orcutt, who visited the area this week. “They’re not looking like they’re in particularly good shape. We did see a year-old elk calf that couldn’t get up. It struggled to get up and couldn’t. It was a hard thing to see.”
The problem has occurred before and people should have been allowed to hunt more of the animals in the fall to prevent widespread malnourishment, said Orcutt, a forester.
He sent out a news release Thursday demanding Director Jeff Koenings be fired.
Managing the area’s elk population is a long-term problem, Koenings said. The volcanic eruption of 1980 wiped out the population, but it has became too large since.
“The herd is getting by, but just barely. There perhaps are too many animals down there for current habitat conditions,” Koenings said from Alaska, where he was attending a regional fisheries meeting.
Koenings noted his department moved some elk out of the area a few years ago. More hunting or improving habitat might address the problem now, he said.
But in eight years leading the Department of Fish and Wildlife and 29 years of work in resource management, Koenings said, “this is the first call for me to be fired that I’ve ever had.”
Koenings said Orcutt never contacted him about the elk issue before issuing a news release calling for his dismissal.
“I could see if we had a sort of running gun battle over this issue, but out of the blue like this — this is bad,” Koenings said. “This is something we have to work on. We could have had this discussion beforehand. But we need to explain our actions and be accountable for those actions.”
A ‘cop-out’
Orcutt called Koenings’ complaint about communication a “cop-out.” He made it clear to department officials in legislative hearings that he wants the agency to respond faster to public concerns, he said.
And he’s upset the agency opposed a bill that would relocate nuisance beavers to private land at the landowner’s request. The bill passed the Legislature but was vetoed by the governor, a move the agency supported.
“Either they don’t know how to manage resources or don’t care to manage resources. Yet they do have the time to write a letter to kill legislation,” Orcutt said. “They’re more interested in the policy than they are in managing resources on the ground. And yes, I fault the director.”
Communication
Hiring or firing Koenings is not Orcutt’s responsibility. Nor does the governor appoint him, as is the case with most state agencies. The Fish and Wildlife Commission appointed him.
“Until we speak directly to Rep. Orcutt, it’s difficult to assess what he had in mind,” said Fred Shiosaki, a commissioner from Spokane.
The elk herd near Mount St. Helen’s has been a long-standing problem, Shiosaki said. He thinks Koenings has acted “prudently and quickly.”
And Orcutt never contacted the commission about his concerns before taking his case to the media, he added.
“As far as I know, none of the (commission) members have talked to him,” Shiosaki said. “I think that should take place first.”
Adam Wilson covers state workers and politics for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-753-1688 or [email protected].
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Elk problem spurs move by Orcutt
BY ADAM WILSON
THE OLYMPIAN
An irate legislator says the head of the Fish and Wildlife Department should be fired.
The director in question says he wishes the legislator would talk to him about concerns before publicly calling for his termination.
The disagreement is about elk.
The department is responsible for dozens of elk starving to death in the Mount St. Helen’s Wildlife Area, contends Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama.
“They’re telling me the area will sustain 400 elk, but there are 600 there,” said Orcutt, who visited the area this week. “They’re not looking like they’re in particularly good shape. We did see a year-old elk calf that couldn’t get up. It struggled to get up and couldn’t. It was a hard thing to see.”
The problem has occurred before and people should have been allowed to hunt more of the animals in the fall to prevent widespread malnourishment, said Orcutt, a forester.
He sent out a news release Thursday demanding Director Jeff Koenings be fired.
Managing the area’s elk population is a long-term problem, Koenings said. The volcanic eruption of 1980 wiped out the population, but it has became too large since.
“The herd is getting by, but just barely. There perhaps are too many animals down there for current habitat conditions,” Koenings said from Alaska, where he was attending a regional fisheries meeting.
Koenings noted his department moved some elk out of the area a few years ago. More hunting or improving habitat might address the problem now, he said.
But in eight years leading the Department of Fish and Wildlife and 29 years of work in resource management, Koenings said, “this is the first call for me to be fired that I’ve ever had.”
Koenings said Orcutt never contacted him about the elk issue before issuing a news release calling for his dismissal.
“I could see if we had a sort of running gun battle over this issue, but out of the blue like this — this is bad,” Koenings said. “This is something we have to work on. We could have had this discussion beforehand. But we need to explain our actions and be accountable for those actions.”
A ‘cop-out’
Orcutt called Koenings’ complaint about communication a “cop-out.” He made it clear to department officials in legislative hearings that he wants the agency to respond faster to public concerns, he said.
And he’s upset the agency opposed a bill that would relocate nuisance beavers to private land at the landowner’s request. The bill passed the Legislature but was vetoed by the governor, a move the agency supported.
“Either they don’t know how to manage resources or don’t care to manage resources. Yet they do have the time to write a letter to kill legislation,” Orcutt said. “They’re more interested in the policy than they are in managing resources on the ground. And yes, I fault the director.”
Communication
Hiring or firing Koenings is not Orcutt’s responsibility. Nor does the governor appoint him, as is the case with most state agencies. The Fish and Wildlife Commission appointed him.
“Until we speak directly to Rep. Orcutt, it’s difficult to assess what he had in mind,” said Fred Shiosaki, a commissioner from Spokane.
The elk herd near Mount St. Helen’s has been a long-standing problem, Shiosaki said. He thinks Koenings has acted “prudently and quickly.”
And Orcutt never contacted the commission about his concerns before taking his case to the media, he added.
“As far as I know, none of the (commission) members have talked to him,” Shiosaki said. “I think that should take place first.”
Adam Wilson covers state workers and politics for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-753-1688 or [email protected].
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