Response I got from Senator Kline (D-Seattle) in response to the Big Game Forever form letter:
Thanks for your note. The Natural Resources and Parks Committee just heard all four appointees. They appeared in person, and we asked questions that reflected our own preferences. Some committee members seemed to insist that the candidates act in the way that their own constituents would like. I prefer to see them as individuals who have the elected Governor’s confidence (though some preceded him by 18 months or more) because they are capable of negotiating to a statewide solution, rather than because they follow slavishly the desires of one or another stakeholder group, or the ideology of “urban” or “rural” residents—as if those were monolithic blocs. The answers of all four gentlemen convinced me that they are willing to balance the conflicting needs of urban and rural Washington, whether in regard to wolf-management, fisheries management, or hunting. I intend to vote to confirm all four, including the one who took a different position on wolf-management than I do.
If we legislators want to draft and pass our own wildlife management plans, I suppose we could do that. We could legislate hunting seasons, even vote on where to assign staff. But we delegate that to an agency because so much of these acts are decided on a case-by-case basis, and we don’t have the time or expertise on which to base good judgment. So we have to respect the individuals who are willing to step forward to do it, and whom an elected Governor has appointed. That means treating them with respect and giving them a degree of discretion. We get to see them again in another four years, but in the meantime we need to trust them. That’s not naďve; that’s pragmatic.
Thanks again for your advocacy.
Yours truly,
Adam