ODF&W Director Down To Three

[freespool]

Trio make finals for director's job
Monday, May 29, 2006

BILL MONROE

All three final candidates for the director's job at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife have management experience in similar state agencies. None are Oregon natives.

They include Roy Elicker, 53, named the department's interim director in January when former director Lindsay Ball resigned to become head of the state Department of Administrative Services.

Joining Elicker on June 8 for a public interview in Salem by the seven-member Fish and Wildlife Commission will be Virgil Moore, 54, fish division administrator for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, and Kay L. "K.L." Cool, 59, former director of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The trio will appear with the commission that night in a public reception at the department's Salem headquarters starting at 5 p.m.

A committee headed by commission chair Marla Rae finalized the selections late last week from a list of five semifinalists, which were winnowed from 15 original applicants for the job. All five -- whose names were not made public -- were interviewed by the committee by telephone in a small conference room in the governor's staff offices.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is the nation's fifth largest fish and wildlife agency.

The candidates:

Cool -- A consultant in Payson, Ariz. He directed the Michigan Department of Natural Resources from 1996-2004, the North Dakota Department of Fish and Game from 1993-96 and the Montana Department of Fish and Wildlife from 1985-92. He holds a B.S. in zoology and an M.S. in wildlife management, both from South Dakota State University.

Elicker -- Was Ball's deputy director since 2001 and former coordinator for the department's legislative affairs. He has a law degree from Lewis & Clark College and both B.S. and M.S. degrees in wildlife biology from Rutgers University.

Moore -- Idaho's chief of fisheries since 1998. He came to the state in 1974 after teaching biology in Missouri. He holds a B.S. in education/biology from Northwest Missouri State University and an M.S. in zoology from Idaho State University.

Rae said either Gov. Ted Kulongoski or a member of his staff will meet with each of the men next week before the commission makes a final decision.

She said the public interviews will begin after lunch June 8 during the commission's two-day June meeting, in which big game tag numbers are decided among other agenda items.

Following the interviews, commissioners will discuss the men privately but must make their formal decision during a public session.


Here's NSIA's letter to the Commission:



June 5, 2006



Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commissioners

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

3406 Cherry Ave.

Salem, Oregon 97303



Re: ODF&W Director Candidates



Dear Commissioners,



On behalf of the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, we are writing to indicate our enthusiasm for the three candidates that have been chosen by your staff selection committee. We are particularly pleased that Mr. Virgil Moore has been placed in the final interviews. The Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association consists of nearly 350 businesses such as charter and guides, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, (from large retailers Fred Meyer and G.I. Joes to family owned B.C. Angling Post) hotels, marinas and other businesses in the recreational fishing/tourism sectors of the Northwest and beyond. In addition, the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association serves as an umbrella organization for tens of thousands of sportsmen and women through the membership of nearly every major sport-fishing club in three states.



Through NSIA’s 13+ years of work on salmon and steelhead recovery, we have come to develop excellent working relationships with the staff of the Idaho Fish and Game Department. There are many solid, key considerations to recommend Virgil Moore for the new Director of ODF&W.



Virgil Moore is nationally recognized as an effective leader, active with the American Fisheries Society, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation and the American Sportfishing Association. An inquiry to the leadership of any of these organizations will provide insight as to his track record of involvement, his leadership and the respect with which he is held.



Foremost is the scientific integrity that the Idaho Fish and Game continues to maintain, in spite of the “siege on science” political atmosphere of the past few years. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has a tradition of scientific leadership for the benefit of our fishery resources, that NSIA is confident will continue under Mr. Moore’s leadership.



Mature leadership is the key theme we find when we seek out Idaho stakeholders’ opinions of their relationships with Virgil Moore. From the bass fishermen to the steelhead fishermen to the environmental community we find consistent enthusiasm and support for Virgil Moore. This extremely diverse spectrum of support is rarely found, especially between a regulatory agency and it’s clientele. This speaks to his skills and values to maintain relationships through the disagreements that are inevitable between regulators and their stakeholders.



Finally, we find universal support for Virgil Moore’s talents among those who have worked with and for him professionally.



In summary, ODF&W, it’s stakeholders and the state of Oregon will be well served, (we would go so far to say lucky) to have their already talented staff enhanced by the leadership of Virgil Moore. Scientific integrity, excellent and diverse stakeholder relationships, and a motivated, dedicated staff define Virgil Moore’s career at IDF&W. We are thrilled to recommend him as ODF&W’s new Director.



Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association







Dan Parnel, President

Liz Hamilton, Executive Director

Trey Carskadon, OR Government Affairs