Wildlife Agency To Change Fish And Game Chief Pledges To Address Batt’s Concerns

Idaho Fish and Game Director Jerry Conley says his department will take immediate steps to respond to Gov. Phil Batt’s list of complaints.

Batt on Friday met with Fish and Game officials, then told a news conference it was “premature and ill-conceived” for him to seek the resignations of the six members of the Fish and Game Commission. But the new governor had a list of concerns about the agency and the commission which controls it.

On the KTVB “Viewpoint” program taped later Friday for Sunday broadcast, Conley said those complaints are getting immediate attention.

“I feel a lot better after the meeting,” Conley said. “I thought it went well.”

The governor complained that last year, a Fish and Game publication criticized Sen. Larry Craig for not making a stronger effort to save salmon.

Conley said after the meeting with Batt, commissioners met and decided that was a mistake. He said a letter of apology would be sent to Craig and he would take steps to make sure it didn’t happen again.

Other points:

Batt said a department spokesman told an Oregon conference the state was behind a plan to save salmon, that Batt opposes. Conley said there was some confusion in the transition between the administration of Gov. Cecil Andrus, who pushed the plan, and Batt, who opposes it. “We need to come up with a better understanding of a salmon plan for Idaho,” Conley said.

The governor said the Fish and Game Commission at first supported the proposed Idaho Training Range for Mountain Home Air Force Base, then mounted opposition that was a major factor in the range project being dropped.

“They never have opposed the training range,” Conley said. “They have opposed where the training range was.”

He said Fish and Game will work to help find a suitable place for the proposed facility.

Batt said he’s heard that some department staffers have been leaking sensitive information to environmentalists to block timber sales. “We will make an attempt to see that doesn’t happen,” Conley said. “We provide information to folks very openly, not behind the scenes.”

“If they have been giving information behind the scenes they shouldn’t be doing that and we will try to cut it out,” he said.

Batt said the agency appears to have an excessive public relations operation, used mainly to make the agency look good rather than dealing with public complaints. “Most of our information is educational information,” Conley said.

He said the controversy may have its good points.

“It gave the commission an opportunity to get acquainted with the governor real quickly,” Conley said.