While we know that many anti's were focused on the cougar hunt everyone is forgetting the free hunting trip. That is a no no everywhere. In Wa a State employee would have likely been fired. If not they would have had to pay for the trip and then face serious time off with out pay, ethics training and or big fines. So lets not put to much faith in the news. I lean towards thinking that the reason they did not come done harder is because of the anti's.
Why is accepting a free trip bad? There's no political gain for ID. I see it as a benefit to CA - educational if you will. I was a state employee, and I received free trips from my friend, who is a licensed guide, ALL the time. Is it because I wasn't public enough? Should it matter? Does it matter???
Nope.
It's really too bad, California ain't all bad. I feel for those folks in the north.