Here's my take on this year's multi-season tag fiasco....
Me calling WDFW way back at the beginning of April to ask about the multiple-season hunting permit application for 2007 after patiently reviewing the Hunting section of the WDFW website since February on an almost daily basis for said information...
WDFW: "Hello, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, how may I help you?"
Me: "Yes, I know the regs will not come out for some time, but I was wondering if you might be able to tell me the deadline for the multi-season hunting permit application? I can't find any information on your website. Is it going to be on June 28 with all the rest of the special permit applications?"
WDFW: "I'm sorry sir, you are not the first person I've had to tell this to, but the deadline for multi-season hunting permit application entry has already closed for this year."
Me: "I'm sorry, I could have sworn you just said that the deadline for multi-season hunting permit application entry has already closed for this year."
WDFW: "Yes sir, that's correct."
Me: "Let me get this straight...You've closed the entry, without ever having publicly announced ANY information about the multi-hunt permit application, how or where to enter, or the deadline?"
WDFW: "No sir."
Me: "I'm sorry, what do you mean by "no sir"?"
WDFW: "The deadline was announced some time ago and the deadline closed a couple weeks ago."
Me: "That's interesting, several of my hunting buddies and I have been checking the Regulation and Seasons section of your website religiously since the beginning of February and have NEVER seen any such notification."
WDFW: "Well, it's on the website."
Me: "I'm there now. Can you kindly direct me to where this information is located?"
WDFW: "Ummm...okay, it'll take just a second for me to find the right page."
Me: "It's not under the Important Hunting Dates section or any of the other pages under Seasons and Regulations."
WDFW: "Really? ... it should be there."
Me: "I can assure you that it is not."
WDFW: "Well, perhaps you missed it, it should be there."
Me: "I haven't. Shouldn't it be one of those "important dates" like say for example the 2007 Special Permit Application Submission Due under the Application Due heading?"
...silence...
Me: "Hello?"
WDFW: "Yes, I'm still here...just looking...Hmmm, that's interesting ?it is not listed. Maybe it was taken off the list since the deadline has already passed."
Me: "No, as I've said, we've been checking your website for the announcement. In fact I printed that page a while ago. I have it here somewhere."
WDFW: "Hmmm...I can't find it...can I get your contact information and give you a call back?"
Me: "Sure, it's...."
WDFW: "Thanks, we'll get right back with you."
Me: "Okay, thank you."
...a couple days pass and so I call them again...
WDFW: "Hello, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, how may I help you?"
Me: "This is... we spoke the other day about the multi-season hunt application problem?"
WDFW: "Oh yes, we've gotten a lot of calls about that. I spoke with the person in charge of this and he told me the entry deadline had definitely passed."
Me: "Yes, I remember you mentioning that the other day. You were going to find out where this information was supposedly publicly posted and get back with me."
WDFW: "Oh yes, now I remember! It was a news release."
Me: "A news release?"
WDFW: "Yes."
Me: (joking) "I generally make it a habit to watch the nightly news and I don't recall any of the nightly news anchors making mention of this."
WDFW: giggle..."No they probably wouldn't mention it."
Me: "Why wouldn't this information be posted under the Regulations and Seasons area, specifically under Important Dates? Don't you think that would make more sense?"
WDFW: "Well, I don't know, but yes it would make sense to put it there."
Me: "Okay...I don't see it as a heading under the New Release section."
WDFW: "You need to click on the WDFW News Releases."
Me: "Okay, I don't see any headlines relating to multi-season. Where should I be looking?"
WDFW: "Hmmm, I don't see it there either."
Me: "Oh wait, it's probably archived down here on the left."
WDFW: "Where?"
Me: "Scroll down until you see News Release Archive on the left side of your screen."
WDFW: "Okay."
Me: "Let's see...nothing under March...you said the deadline was March 31st right?"
WDFW: "Yes, I think that is correct."
Me: "Do you find it odd that there was no news release or alert in March to the effect that a deadline for a special hunt application was approaching?"
...silence...
Me: "Hello?"
WDFW: "Yes, I'm still here."
Me: "Did you hear me?"
WDFW: "I'm sorry, I was trying to find something relating to the multi-season application...could you repeat the question."
...question repeated as I begin to look under February
WDFW: "That is a little strange."
Me: "Indeed...maybe it's archived here under February."
...silence...
Me: "Here's something under February 23rd..."
WDFW: "Yeah, okay, I found it."
Me: "Well, clearly this is unacceptable."
WDFW: "What do you mean?"
Me: "What part of the search for this supposedly public information we just went through implies "readily available to the public"?"
WDFW: "What do you mean?"
Me: "I had to dig through your website with you in order to find an "important hunting date" that should be readily available to the public and located in a better and more appropriate location on your website. Having to dig around under a couple of obscure layers isn't exactly what I'd consider "public". That's unacceptable and not fair to all the people who have waited patiently for something in the regs to come out."
WDFW: "What do you mean?"
Me: "How would a person know to look under News Releases for Special Permit, Deadline, and Important Date information...you know, Seasons and Regulations type stuff?"
WDFW: "I don't know."
Me: "I don't know either, seems pretty silly don't you think?"
....silence....
Me: "Hello?"
WDFW: "Yes, I'm still here."
Me: "It seems like the fair thing to do here would be to re-open the entry publicly and reset the deadline for those interested in taking part in the application process."
....silence....
Me: "Hello?"
WDFW: "Yes, I'm still here."
Me: "Is there someone there that I can talk to about this? How about this Dave Ware fellow?"
WDFW: "Yes, I think he's in today."
Me: "Can you put me through to him please?"
WDFW: "Sure, one moment."
Me: "Okay, thank you."
WDFW: "I'll connect you now."
Me: "Okay, thank you."
....she dropped call.
... I re-dial.
WDFW: "Hello, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, how may I help you?"
Me: "Yes, me again, you were going to connect me with Dave Ware?"
WDFW: "I'm sorry, we'll try that again."
....she dropped call...again.
... I re-dial...again.
WDFW: "Hello, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, how may I help you?"
Me: "Dave Ware please."
WDFW: "I'm sorry, let me connect you."
....automated voice comes on the line and says, "the voice-mailbox for the person you are trying to reach is full, please try again.", and then abruptly hangs up.
... I re-dial...again.
WDFW: "Hello, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, how may I help you?"
Me: "Hi, me again, Dave Ware's voicemail is apparently full....could yo..." (cut off by WDFW)
WDFW: "Oh, I was hoping that wasn't going to happen, he's been getting a lot of calls about this. There are some pretty upset people out there."
Me: "I'll bet. Consider me one of them. Could you please write down a message for him?"
WDFW: "Ummm...sure, could you hold on while I get something to write with?"
Me: "Fine."
?silence?
Me: "Hello?"
WDFW: "Yes, I'm still here."
Me: "Ready?"
WDFW: "Yes, I'm ready."
Me: "Could you please have him give me a call regarding this multi-season hunt application situation...my name is...my cell phone is..."
....silence....
Me: "Hello?"
WDFW: "Yes, I'm still here."
Me: "Did you get that?"
WDFW: "Yes, is that all?"
Me: "Yes, thank you for passing my information along to him."
WDFW: "You are welcome, have a nice day."
Me: "You too!"
...after a week or so, I received no call from Dave Ware...so I picked up the phone...
WDFW: "Hello, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, how may I help you?"
Me: "Could I speak with Dave Ware please."
WDFW: "Sure, let me connect you."
....automated voice comes on the line and says, "the voice-mailbox for the person you are trying to reach is full, please try again.", and then promptly hangs up.
... I re-dial...again.
WDFW: "Hello, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, how may I help you?"
Me: "Hi, me again, Dave Ware's voicemail is apparently still full. He hasn't returned my call."
WDFW: "When did you leave a message?
Me: "When I called last, you wrote it down...did the message get to him?"
WDFW: "Yes."
Me: "Is he in today."
WDFW: "Yes, I think so."
Me: "Could you put him on the phone please?"
...should have expected it...the whole full-voicemail-dropped-call-re-dial routine....
Me: "Listen, I'm generally a very patient man, but this is ridiculous...if Dave Ware is there right now, I'd like for you to put him on the line, right now."
WDFW: "Can you hold please, I'll try to find him."
Me: "Fine."
?very short silence?
WDFW: "He's in a meeting right now, can I take a message?"
...repeat of last written message asking him to call me...
...no attempt to contact me was ever made...
...After several similar attempts, I called again and was magically/finally able to get through to Dave Ware nearly a month later...
Me: "Hi Dave, my name is .... I would like to talk with you about re-opening the multi-season special hunt application."
WDFW, Dave Ware: "I've gotten a lot of calls about that and I'm afraid we are not going to be able to do that, you'll just have to wait until next year like everyone else."
Me: "But Dave, there was not a public announcement of the multi-season special hunt application...how were sportsmen supposed to know about its existence or the entry deadline? It certainly was not anywhere under the Seasons and Rules section of your website and it certainly wasn't listed under the Important Dates section of your website. Come to eventually find out it was tucked in an obscure news release that came out way back in February - hardly a relevant place to announce an important hunting date...don't you think."
WDFW, Dave Ware: ?I know, we could have definitely handled it better.?
Me: "Not that many people look through that section, but there wasn?t even a news release in March alerting sportsmen about the deadline at the end of the month!"
WDFW, Dave Ware: ?Like I said, we could have definitely handled it better and we'll try harder next year.?
Me: ?Why can't you just re-open the opportunity for people to put in for the multi-season application and extend the deadline for entry, after all, the regs finally just came out and people would be better prepared to determine if taking part in the multi-season draw is even worth it for them now that they know the dates of the various seasons.?
WDFW, Dave Ware: ?Look, we are not going to do that.?
Me: ?Why not??
WDFW, Dave Ware: ?We have already ranked the people that have put in for it.?
Me: ?What does that have to do with anything? That's irrelevant since you never posted the information in a reasonable place for people to find out about it in the first place?Why can't you just reopen the opportunity for people to put in for it and extend the deadline? Seems to me there is plenty of time.?
WDFW, Dave Ware: ?It wouldn't be fair to the people who already put in for it.?
Me: ?What about it not being fair to all the people who missed out on the opportunity? What about all the revenue F&G missed out on? Doesn?t Fish & Game need the extra revenue that more applications would provide? If not, why do I have to pay as much as I do for tags??
?silence?
Me: ?Hello??
WDFW, Dave Ware: "Look, I admit the application process wasn?t handled very well this year but we are not going to open it back up. You?ll just have to wait until next year like everyone else."
Me: ?Dave, I'm not calling on behalf of myself, I'm calling on behalf of all the sportsmen that got royally screwed out of the chance at being able to hunt during multiple seasons.?
?silence?
Me: ?Hello? Dave, are you hearing me??
WDFW, Dave Ware: "Yes, but you've got to understand the timing of these things.?
Me: ?What timing, how long does it take a computer to rank and randomly select the winners?seconds?maybe??
?from that point an extended and increasingly heated debate begins that comes full circle to?
Me: ?Please explain to me in rationale, logical terms why can't you just re-open the application opportunity??
WDFW, Dave Ware: "We CAN reopen it but I'm just not going to, okay??
?astonished silence?both of us stunned by his inadvertent admission of the real truth.
Me: ?Okay, I'd ask you why you can't reopen the application process again, but now we both know that you actually could?so, now?which of the two would you prefer, A) Do the right thing and publicly re-open the multi-season special hunt application for the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of those of us that would like the chance to participate, and in doing so help generate some much needed revenue for fish and wildlife habitat and management, or 2) choose to do the lazy and selfish thing which will end up with you, your boss Dave Britell, and your boss?s bosses Larry Peck and Jeff Koenings having to spend a lot of time answering several hundred, perhaps thousands, of extremely irate telephone calls and e-mails from sportsmen of this state?
?silence?
Me: Hello?
WDFW, Dave Ware: "You do what you have to do.?
So I am?
If you are upset by the way the Dave Ware and the Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife has severely mishandled the 2007 Multi-Season Hunt Application, let's motivate them by expressing your own personal extreme dissatisfaction.
(360) 902-2515
Dave Ware -
[email protected],
[email protected]
Dave Brittell -
[email protected],
[email protected]
Larry Peck -
[email protected],
[email protected]
Jeff Koenings -
[email protected],
[email protected]
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Liberalism is the philosophy of Western suicide.