Below is an email from Ed Owens who is one of the most influential and the oldest lobbyist in Olympia for natural resources. Yesterday apparently the shortfall was calculated to be 8.3 billion for WA state budgets. In comparison with the Governor’s proposed cuts (see this link to open a copy of the Guv’s budget for you to compare: http://www.ofm.wa.gov/budget09/recsum/477.pdf it appears to have an overall 7.2% reduction for WDFW's 09/11 budget listed at the bottom) With the information in Ed's email things do look dire, don't know what to do other than contact your legislator.....
From: Ed Owens [mailto:ed_owens@comcast.net]
Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 5:28 AM
To: FHNR Forum
Subject: Legislative Alert - WDFW Budget
The state money black hole is growing - now headed to somewhere around $8 billion dollars - we're no longer talking about "just" the $6 billion dollar "problem" the Governor's budget assumed when it was introduced. More accurate projections will be available in a few days.
The bad news for the regulated communities is that the Department of Fish and Wildlife has been ordered to take another multi-million dollar cut in its budget - more accurately stated the department must now take a 22.8% total reduction in the 2009-2011 budget. This cut does not include those already taken in the current budget.
This new financial whack will mean that every species management program, every hatchery, every habitat conservation program and every season for all species is at risk. The condition also means that there will be no legislative tolerance for schemes that protect some small element of the overall agency responsibilities when the legislature is faced with this order of magnitude problem.
Candidly stated, if your thing is only blackmouth salmon fishing in Puget Sound, pheasant hunting only in Western Washington or turkey hunting only in the Okanogan and you demand that "your thing" must be protected over everything else you can kiss that kind of thinking goodbye. Can't - and won't - happen. The overarching mandate of the agency to "preserve and protect" means things like meeting ESA compliance, etc. must take absolute first priority against things like exercising fishing and hunting privileges.
This new round of budget cuts goes past the muscle and deep into the heart and bone of the agency. The harsh reality is that if the biological data are not available the agency cannot set harvest objectives. If enforcement can't cover the seasons allowed the seasons will need to be closed -- all you have to do is look at California where this has already happened with more closures on the way. Fish and wildlife poaching, already a growing problem simply because of the economic situation and pressures to feed families - particularly in the rural areas - will become an even greater problem with inadequate enforcement on the ground and the list goes on.
The "good news," if there is any, is that at least the playing field has been leveled among the natural resources agencies with this new round of cuts.
The first round of budget cuts took the lion's share of natural resources agency reductions straight out of the hide of the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Many of you raised a major stink - rightfully so - that it was just wrong, for example, for the Department of Ecology to gain funding and positions while fish and wildlife took a $30 million dollar hit and the loss of 154 jobs. You succeeded in getting the attention of the legislature over this gross inequity. In the newest cuts ordered the playing field has been leveled with all of the natural resource agencies being ordered to reduce their budgets by 22.8% equally.
While "final" decisions are far from being set in stone the technical definition of the situation here in Olympia is now beyond "ugly."
From: Ed Owens [mailto:ed_owens@comcast.net]
Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 5:28 AM
To: FHNR Forum
Subject: Legislative Alert - WDFW Budget
The state money black hole is growing - now headed to somewhere around $8 billion dollars - we're no longer talking about "just" the $6 billion dollar "problem" the Governor's budget assumed when it was introduced. More accurate projections will be available in a few days.
The bad news for the regulated communities is that the Department of Fish and Wildlife has been ordered to take another multi-million dollar cut in its budget - more accurately stated the department must now take a 22.8% total reduction in the 2009-2011 budget. This cut does not include those already taken in the current budget.
This new financial whack will mean that every species management program, every hatchery, every habitat conservation program and every season for all species is at risk. The condition also means that there will be no legislative tolerance for schemes that protect some small element of the overall agency responsibilities when the legislature is faced with this order of magnitude problem.
Candidly stated, if your thing is only blackmouth salmon fishing in Puget Sound, pheasant hunting only in Western Washington or turkey hunting only in the Okanogan and you demand that "your thing" must be protected over everything else you can kiss that kind of thinking goodbye. Can't - and won't - happen. The overarching mandate of the agency to "preserve and protect" means things like meeting ESA compliance, etc. must take absolute first priority against things like exercising fishing and hunting privileges.
This new round of budget cuts goes past the muscle and deep into the heart and bone of the agency. The harsh reality is that if the biological data are not available the agency cannot set harvest objectives. If enforcement can't cover the seasons allowed the seasons will need to be closed -- all you have to do is look at California where this has already happened with more closures on the way. Fish and wildlife poaching, already a growing problem simply because of the economic situation and pressures to feed families - particularly in the rural areas - will become an even greater problem with inadequate enforcement on the ground and the list goes on.
The "good news," if there is any, is that at least the playing field has been leveled among the natural resources agencies with this new round of cuts.
The first round of budget cuts took the lion's share of natural resources agency reductions straight out of the hide of the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Many of you raised a major stink - rightfully so - that it was just wrong, for example, for the Department of Ecology to gain funding and positions while fish and wildlife took a $30 million dollar hit and the loss of 154 jobs. You succeeded in getting the attention of the legislature over this gross inequity. In the newest cuts ordered the playing field has been leveled with all of the natural resource agencies being ordered to reduce their budgets by 22.8% equally.
While "final" decisions are far from being set in stone the technical definition of the situation here in Olympia is now beyond "ugly."