Doctor Named To Fish, Game Commission Appointee Backed By Agricultural Groups, Is Member Of The Nra, Ducks Unlimited

A man described as someone who understands the interaction between private property holders and hunters was appointed Monday to the state Fish and Game Commission.

Burley, Idaho, physician Fred Wood, who had the backing of several agricultural and sportsmen’s groups, succeeds Jerome, Idaho, optometrist Wesley Rose.

In making the appointment, Gov. Phil Batt said Wood is “sensitive to the high volume of complaints against the department.

“Dr. Wood is complimentary about many aspects of the department and believes some of the criticism is baseless,” Batt said. “However, he is confident he can help the commission develop a more positive image and relationship with the public.”

Wood, 50, is Batt’s third appointment to the commission since the governor took office 16-1/2 months ago. The announcement sets the stage for Batt’s appointees to hold a 4-3 majority when the governor fills the newly created seat for Custer and Lemhi counties, expected before month’s end.

Wood, a member of Ducks Unlimited, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep and the National Rifle Association, drew support from the state’s Farm Bureau, cattlemen and wool growers.

Idaho Cattle Association Executive Vice President Bob Sears said Wood understands the interaction between private property holders and hunters.

Former commission member Fred Christensen, now president of the Idaho Wildlife Federation, has expressed fear that the commission is heading toward representing special interests instead of wildlife.

Christensen also has expressed concern that the ultimate goal of the commission under Batt is to fire veteran department director Jerry Conley.

The governor specifically has told Conley and has stated publicly that he is not out to engineer a commission that will find a new director. But Conley, who has run the department for 16 years, was interviewed this month for the top job in the Washington state Fish and Wildlife Department.

That job, however, went to a Portland biologist.

Monday’s announcement came less than two weeks after current commissioners were taken to task by the governor for donating $225 to the campaign against an initiative that would restrict bear hunting in Idaho.

Although $125 of that amount was repaid by one commissioner, prompting Batt to say even the commission believed the contribution was questionable, department and commission officials have defended their involvement. They maintained it was not directed at the initiative campaign itself.

At that time, Batt signaled that he would replace Rose, whose six-year term expires July 1. He interpreted a letter from Commissioner Keith Carlson supporting Rose’s reappointment as threatening retaliation from sportsmen if he chose someone else and declared he would not be intimidated.

While the governor repeatedly has said he does not want to get into a war with the independent commission, he has raised questions about its responsiveness to concerns of sportsmen throughout the state.

On taking office in 1995, Batt asked the commissioners to submit their resignations while he determined whether the existing commission would be compatible with the positions on fish and game issues he had taken during his campaign.

Batt has said he never intended to accept those resignations. But the incident provoked an outcry of political meddling from sportsmen around the state, and Batt eventually conceded the move was premature and ill-advised.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: WHAT’S NEXT Batt is expected to fill another position before month’s end.