Silencing the Grizzly’s Defenders, as the Body Count Mounts
October 30, 2015
Silencing the Grizzly’s Defenders, as the Body Count Mounts
by Louisa Willcox
Arnie Dood does not come across as an environmental crusader. Big, affable, a little on the goofy side, he dutifully worked as a wildlife biologist and manager for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (MTFWP) for about 40 years… Until a few months ago when he paid the price of serving the larger public trust in an agency that, at the top, cares only about its financial and political hide. He got forced out.
Arnie was working on a plan for bison recovery, having moved on from grizzly bears, over which our paths first crossed several decades ago. In gathering public opinion, which was part of his job, he found that many Montanans were interested in possibilities to recover bison in suitable places where they were extirpated over a century ago. Arnie, who freely talks to anybody and everybody, personifies a public servant committed to a healthy public discourse. Because of the dialogue he and his agency initiated, people from across the state were talking about opportunities to bring back bison.
But his bosses were fearful of tangling with the state’s politically well-connected livestock interests who are notoriously hostile to bison. They did not want to continue the open public discussion (the kind you need to reach consensus and meaningful results) because they feared getting into hot water. Arnie had almost completed the plan when suddenly he learned that his position had been defunded. (link).
This is my experience of the wildlife management arena: the good guys, who care about the broader public interest have a tough time surviving. Too often, a small, thuggish minority of special interests prevail and are rewarded for being bullies and interfering with wildlife management to benefit themselves. Agency managers, like dogs that have been beaten, anticipate the lash from industry and curb their behavior, preventing staff from carrying out responsibilities to protect the resource or even to talk to the public about choices that are rightfully theirs.
More:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/10/30/silencing-the-grizzlys-defenders-as-the-body-count-mounts/
