letter to my elected officials

russ_outdoors · Mar 2, 2016

LAST EDITED ON Mar-02-16 AT 10:33PM (MST)[p]Letter to my elected officials and governor's office (copy sent to DWR and Wildlife Board):

As a 4th generation and lifelong Utahn I am writing out of concern for the disturbing actions of the DWR regarding their stewardship of our wildlife resources. I have watched over the years as premium resources have been given to Sportsman for Fish and Wildlife (SFW) and the Mule Deer Foundation (MDF) under questionable, at best, circumstances. It is unfathomable that state and public resources are handed out to these organizations without full accountability. We could start and end with that, but unfortunately the travesty continues. The latest being the fiasco with the Expo contract and one can only beg, ?What's going on here!? Of course as you start peeling the layers back, it becomes clear that nepotism runs very deep between the leadership of the DWR, SFW, MDF, and the Wildlife Board.

Let me be very clear: The leadership of SFW and MDF do not represent the best interests of the citizens and wildlife in Utah.

As a voting, tax paying citizen I request the following of you and our elected leaders:

? Expo contract and award be thoroughly investigated by an independent 3rd party. Not the governor?s office, not DWR counsel? If improprieties are discovered the contract must be voided and bid reopened by a neutral party.
? DWR leadership needs to explain to the citizens of Utah why valuable public resources have been given away without full accountability. 30% is not good enough! Negligent individuals need to resign or be removed from their positions.
? The Wildlife Board needs to be disbanded, completely! It has become a mechanism for SFW and MDF to exert an unbalanced influence over the DWR and wildlife policy.

Our valuable wildlife resources and citizens of this Great State deserve no less than 100%.

wileywapati · Mar 2, 2016

Outstanding.

"WE USED TO HUNT GAME TO
MANAGE, NOW WE MANAGE TO
HUNT"
Finn 2/14/16

Oneye · Mar 2, 2016

Awesome!

Tworay · Mar 2, 2016

Won't make a difference.

theox · Mar 2, 2016

Great letter! Would u mind if I steal a portion of it to send in I'll of course tweak it a bit to fit me.

Tristate · Mar 3, 2016

%100 of what?

russ_outdoors · Mar 3, 2016

>%100 of what?

troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion,[3] often for their own amusement.

russ_outdoors · Mar 3, 2016

>Great letter! Would u mind if
>I steal a portion of
>it to send in I'll
>of course tweak it a
>bit to fit me.

Help yourself.

russ_outdoors · Mar 3, 2016

>Won't make a difference.

Unfortunately you are probably right. My guess is SFW, MDF and DWR will capitulate just enough to quiet the mob and business will continue as usual.

Hawkeye · Mar 3, 2016

LAST EDITED ON Mar-03-16 AT 09:01AM (MST)[p]Watch this video and tell me whether the Governor is going to take a serious look at this issue? Who wrote the script for his speech? The most entertaining part of the speech is when the Governor declares the "great news" that the parties just signed a 10-year contract and the Expo is locked up for the next decade. That is exactly what I have been saying but the DWR always tries to explain that away by stating that the 5-year extension is not guaranteed -- "it has to be approved by the DWR and the Wildlife Board." So much for that position after the Governor's speech.

http://sfw.net/2016/03/02/utah-governor-herbert-praises-western-hunting-conservation-expo/

-Hawkeye-

sageadvice · Mar 3, 2016

"Who wrote the script for his speech?"

Sounded to me like somebody from SFW wrote it.

IMO, Corrupt right to the top. Why even have a RFP? the winner of those public tags was predetermined and those participating existed in a unfair corrupt process.

Ever hear of the old saying, "strike while the iron is hot"?
I fear that those who seek this monopoly of public assets and power will continue as is if something doesn't happen about it and soon.

Joey

"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

TOPGUN · Mar 3, 2016

>Watch this video and tell me
>whether the Governor is going
>to take a serious look
>at this issue? Who
>wrote the script for his
>speech? The most entertaining part
>of the speech is when
>the Governor declares the "great
>news" that the parties just
>signed a 10-year contract and
>the Expo is locked up
>for the next decade.
>That is exactly what I
>have been saying but the
>DWR always tries to explain
>that away by stating that
>the 5-year extension is not
>guaranteed -- "it has to
>be approved by the DWR
>and the Wildlife Board."
>So much for that position
>after the Governor's speech.
>
>http://sfw.net/2016/03/02/utah-governor-herbert-praises-western-hunting-conservation-expo/
>
>-Hawkeye-

We all figured it goes all the way to the top and if that short clip doesn't convince everyone I don't know what will.

Tristate · Mar 3, 2016

LAST EDITED ON Mar-03-16 AT 11:32AM (MST)[p]%100 of what? You said YOU DESERVE IT but I don't think you have any idea what %100 is. Quit dodging the question and speaking in circles. I want a firm number that RMEF has said they think they would get for the state in dollars, not percentages. DID RMEF EVER GIVE A PROSPECTIVE NUMBER and not some percentage?

theox · Mar 3, 2016

>LAST EDITED ON Mar-03-16
>AT 11:32?AM (MST)
>
>%100 of what? You said YOU
>DESERVE IT but I don't
>think you have any idea
>what %100 is. Quit dodging
>the question and speaking in
>circles. I want a
>firm number that RMEF has
>said they think they would
>get for the state in
>dollars, not percentages. DID
>RMEF EVER GIVE A PROSPECTIVE
>NUMBER and not some percentage?
>
Good gawd! U are a fool! To me I'd rather an organization give 100% back even if it is less! And to
Make this assumption that rmef can't bring in crowds is laughable. I'd rather see rmef give Utah 300,000 which would be 100% than sfw give 30% that was 500k than have sfw line their pockets with money that should go to utahs wildlife. At least rmef was being a
Stand up organization instead of hiding everything!

You have a horrible
Point of view and u are
Grasping at straws to keep yourself from seeing the truth about sfw abuse on Utah!

Zim · Mar 3, 2016

LAST EDITED ON Mar-03-16 AT 01:13PM (MST)[p]>We all figured it goes all
>the way to the top
>and if that short clip
>doesn't convince everyone I don't
>know what will.

Yup that is now quite apparent. When the hierarchy gets this infected makes me wonder if there's any hope. This is precisely the situation in Chicago politics every day, every year. It's disgusting there and has proven totally impossible to expunge.

***********************************
Member RMEF, Pope & Young Club, NRA, UWC & SFW Hate Club

flatdead · Mar 3, 2016

The whole SFW/DWR makes me sick!!!!!!!!!!! I was close enough to that group to see first hand how crooked they are. Why is it that key members of the sfw make 250,000 a year. They claim to be helping....... I'll bet less than 50% of the money hits the ground. I have 18 deer points in Utah. If Utah would have kept the tags in the draw system in stead of lining the pockets of the sfw/mdf I would have drawn a tag years ago. I know the SHI!! is on the way for them. Give this 60 days and get the popcorn.

Tristate · Mar 3, 2016

And there you have it. Theox finally said it. He would rather have %100 EVEN IF IT WAS LESS MONEY NET than SFW's %30 deal. He just admitted it.

Have you heard the term "cut your nose to spite your face"?

Deerlove · Mar 3, 2016

Less $?? Hmmm one group has 150k members and one 3k? Poor math skills?

Tristate · Mar 3, 2016

Membership does not directly translate to these dollars. Poor math skills?

akah2o · Mar 3, 2016

Great script!

You guys see this sfw video?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=GPmZD7n0TJE

shotgun1 · Mar 3, 2016

>And there you have it.
>Theox finally said it.
>He would rather have %100
>EVEN IF IT WAS LESS
>MONEY NET than SFW's %30
>deal. He just admitted
>it.
>
>Have you heard the term "cut
>your nose to spite your
>face"?

Congratulations detective Pig. You solved nothing. Just because Theox said his personal opinion, does that automatically with 100% certainty mean RMEF with its 200K+ members would bring in less $$ then $FW with it 13K members????

And be a man for once and stop dodging questions.

Tristate · Mar 3, 2016

I love that parody to. You know why. It shows how none of yall are honest. Yall specifically said that the story done on KUTV was fair and balanced but love the parody that specifically states it was an attack on SFW. I guess yall can have it both ways.

shotgun1 · Mar 3, 2016

Hey Pig,

How come you're not man enough to answer any questions that proves your moronic trolling statements to be lies?

theox · Mar 3, 2016

Tristate. I said I'd rather have a group that actually wants to do the work than a group that is just trying to make
Money. 100% from rmef will likely be wayyyy more than sfw I'm just saying I'd rather an honest organization run it than some jerks that are pumping tags out FOR their own personal gain!

theox · Mar 3, 2016

>I love that parody to.
>You know why. It
>shows how none of yall
>are honest. Yall specifically
>said that the story done
>on KUTV was fair and
>balanced but love the parody
>that specifically states it was
>an attack on SFW.
>I guess yall can have
>it both ways.

The parody is funny because it's how everyone feels. The ksl story showed sfw had something to hide by not responding.

Sherlock · Mar 3, 2016

Last week I submitted an email to Governor Herbert's office expressing my concerns about the whole expo controversy and, in particular, the loss of tags from the public draw to the benefit of select private entities with ties to DWR that have the appearance of impropriety. I received the following response. Enjoy...

March 2, 2016

Dear (Sherlock):

Thank you for your email to the Office of the Governor regarding the Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR). I have been asked to respond on behalf of the Governor.

Our office appreciates hearing from constituents and your comments and opinion on this issue have been noted. As much misinformation has circulated, I wanted to share a statement from Michael Canning, Assistant Director at DWR. I hope the below details remove any doubt you may have had regarding the expo selection process.

"The purpose of the wildlife expo permits is to raise revenue for conservation, but also to bring a large wildlife exposition to Utah for all of the economic benefits such an exposition would provide to the state. Whenever the state desires to procure goods or services, we follow the process described in state procurement code. In this case, state procurement code required that the state issue a formal "Request for Proposal", which not only asks that proposals be submitted, but it also clearly defines how those proposals will be scored. The RFP for the expo permit distributor clearly stated that proposals would be scored on: 1) the viability of the business plan and potential to put on a high quality expo (40% of total score), 2) the ability to organize and conduct a secure and fair permit drawing (20%), 3) the commitment of the organization to use revenue generated for wildlife conservation in Utah (30%), and 4) the historical contribution and previous performance of the organization in Utah (10%). All of this information was made available to potential applicants before proposals were written.

After proposals were received, an independent four-person committee (comprised of members from the Department of Information Technology Services, the Department of Natural Resources, the Governor's Office, and the Division of Wildlife Resources) reviewed the proposals and scored them based on the pre-established criteria. The independent committee unanimously agreed that the proposal submitted by Sportsman for Fish and Wildlife (SFW) was the superior proposal, because it better addressed the criteria in the RFP, and consequently had the highest total score. The SFW proposal scored particularly well because it contained a detailed expo business and marketing plan that included data to support the claims in the proposal, and it also provided a detailed data security plan to protect the personal information of the state's customers, as well as the credit card information of people that attend the expo. The other proposal provided a much less detailed business plan, and its data security plan provided little to no detail. The lack of detail in the data security plan was particularly troubling, as a data breach could cost the state millions of dollars. As I'm sure you can understand, we could not put the social security numbers and credit card numbers of our customers at risk due to the lack of a detailed data security plan. If you would like more information about the committee's decision, please read the justification statement for their selection, which is located at: Caution-http://wildlife.utah.gov/pdf/2015-12-18_justification_statement.pdf.

As many have noted, the SFW proposal did not directly return the most money to the state on a percentage basis (and as you can tell by the justification statement, that component of the SFW proposal was scored accordingly). However, it was the only proposal that provided enough detail to give the state certainty that a high-quality expo would occur and that customer data could be secured. Because of these concerns with the losing proposal and the lack of detail it provided, there is no way to say with any certainty that the total amount of money directly provided to the state would have been higher if the losing proposal was selected. In fact, the losing proposal may have cost the state money if the expo was not economically viable or if there had been data security issues. Although both proposals had their strong points, the state purchasing process selected the best proposal in a fair and unbiased manner. Finally, it is important to note that the contract recently signed between the state and SFW to distribute expo permits clearly states that all of the money raised from expo permit application fees will be used specifically to "support conservation initiatives in Utah". No money has been lost, and all proceeds will benefit Utah wildlife conservation."

Again, we appreciate your communication and thank you for taking time to contact us regarding this matter. If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact the Governor's Office again.

Sincerely,

Austin Cox
Constituent Services

Hawkeye · Mar 3, 2016

That is the same canned response they are sending everyone. Last Monday the governor's office said they have not heard from anyone on this issue. Now they are being flooded by emails and had to prepare a silly form response to try to calm the waters. Times have changed.

-Hawkeye-

Finn · Mar 3, 2016

Remove Herbert from the Governor's mansion and a whole bunch of this nonsense will disappear. The Wildlife Board is his responsibility and serves at his pleasure. He is a key supporter of Utah's public lands grab who is on record in his support of giving Utah lands to foreign interests. He's an outspoken supporter of Bishop's PLI.