Referendum 45 -- Taking Politics Out Of Wildlife Management Is Critical Now
After hunting and fishing in Washington for more than 60 years I have seen the state's wildlife fortunes rise and fall. During the decades between the '30s and '70s wildlife management, except for food fish and shellfish, was controlled by the state game commission.
Then in 1987 Gov. Booth Gardner put the Game Department into the political arena by taking the appointment of the Director of Game from the Game Commission. Since that time the department has been run by political decision rather than by science.
Referendum 45 would correct that situation and return the control of the department to a nonpartisan commission. The commission would again appoint the director and approve budgets. This is now increasingly important with the consolidation two years ago of the fisheries and wildlife departments into one agency. Howard Johnson
Enumclaw