I had to chuckle as I read the qualifications of Robert Valentine, interim director of the Division of Wildlife Resources. Among other things, it said, ". . . he was manager of Navy programs with budgets of between $110 million and $150 million."
He will not have to worry about that in this state. As long as we have a Republican governor and a one-sided ranching Legislature, he will be lucky to see the division endowed with multimillion dollar budgets.The problem with the DWR is not its director, its personnel or acts of nature, but a Legislature dominated by a ranching bureaucracy. The Legislature has taken away the ability of the director and his biologists to make biologically sound decisions by removing all general-fund money and insisting that they know what is best for Utah's wildlife.
With license sales as its main source of income, the agency is now forced to make its wildlife decisions based on finances instead of biology.
Until Utah begins to value its wildlife by funding its management and buffering its directors from know-it-all politicians, the public will continue to experience diminished hunting and recreational experiences. But nothing will happen until we speak out and make wildlife a bureaucratic priority. Let us join together and save our wildlife.
Jeffrey L. Weeks
Pleasant Grove