WWC and HHC Endorse Brian Blake to fill empty commission seat

[Jake Dogfish]

Count me out!  We don’t need another shill for the commercial fishing industry on the commission.   

[pd]

I respectfully disagree with many of the opinions expressed here concerning Mr. Blake and commercial vs. sports fisheries.  I have a lot of direct experience with Mr. Blake, and I can assure you that he is very well versed in the details of fisheries here in Washington (sports, commercial, tribal), and he is an open minded and fair person.  I cannot think of a more knowledgeable commissioner.  (In particular, he would be much better than recent "industry representatives.")

And, he is a hunter. 

Brian Blake would be great.  If anybody has particular questions, please send me a DM.  I would happily respond.

[trophyhunt]

Not a jab here, but, if he is center, then how come the tribes support him?  I'm not sure which tribe is actually center in this state, most seem to go left or want the whole thing?  When the tribes support a politician, that makes my radar go off.

[baldopepper]

Sorry, sat thru north of falcon meetings years ago when the commercial people were fighting to be able to catch the last salmon.  Escapment goals meant nothing to them, and they fought hard to get 100 percent of the non tribal share. Can't forgive anyone who was on that side of the table.  Hearing that the commercials endorsed him makes me even more skeptical. 

[Tbar]

Not a jab here, but, if he is center, then how come the tribes support him?  I'm not sure which tribe is actually center in this state, most seem to go left or want the whole thing?  When the tribes support a politician, that makes my radar go off.

Enjoy your Koontz and Smith type of policy makers in the future. People like you WILL pave the way for their successors to navigate the path they have laid.  You are a constant tool of division and are celebrated by ar and anti crowd.  Keep it up, HSUS is counting on you and your likes.  Not intending to be sarcastic at all just real.

[Skillet]

As a commercial guy, I've got a few thoughts -

Not a jab here, but, if he is center, then how come the tribes support him?  I'm not sure which tribe is actually center in this state, most seem to go left or want the whole thing?

I think it's because he's a known entity, and has a reputation to be reasonable.  Looking at the previous appointees from Inslee, that should count for a lot.

Count me out!  We don’t need another shill for the commercial fishing industry on the commission.   

Actually, there are currently zero commercial fishing-oriented members on a commission whose job it is to manage resources for everyone - including commercial interests.  I believe the rule of commission composition states it needs to be "balanced," and I think you'd be hard-pressed to justify a commission as balanced without a commercial fishing guy in there.

Added to the fact that Blake is a rational, reasonable pick, he would also be a strong hunting advocate that would occupy a Western Washington seat.  I'm sure there is a couple of tenured professors at Evergreen State College that would love to be nominated if his confirmation fails.

Sorry, sat thru north of falcon meetings years ago when the commercial people were fighting to be able to catch the last salmon.  Escapment goals meant nothing to them, and they fought hard to get 100 percent of the non tribal share. Can't forgive anyone who was on that side of the table.  Hearing that the commercials endorsed him makes me even more skeptical. 

Man, that's a pretty harsh take on it, and factually incorrect.  Let me fill in a few blanks, correct me if you think I'm wrong-

The commercials have always negotiated for their interests, sure.  But I don't know a single fisherman that wants to end his career by catching the last fish. You do realize the fish being negotiated over were what was the model considered the surplus harvestable population, correct?  Any salmon fishing plan potentially impacting any ESA-listed fish that comes out of North of Falcon requires an approval by National Marine Fisheries Council.  Therefore, all negotiations are for only the harvestable population, and never for the last fish.  If commercials didn't catch them, sport or tribal would. 

[trophyhunt]

Not a jab here, but, if he is center, then how come the tribes support him?  I'm not sure which tribe is actually center in this state, most seem to go left or want the whole thing?  When the tribes support a politician, that makes my radar go off.

Enjoy your Koontz and Smith type of policy makers in the future. People like you WILL pave the way for their successors to navigate the path they have laid.  You are a constant tool of division and are celebrated by ar and anti crowd.  Keep it up, HSUS is counting on you and your likes.  Not intending to be sarcastic at all just real.

well not sure what your acronyms are but because I disagree with most tribal treaties I’m a racist or anti Native American guy? I’d say go, well it’s Christmas so I won’t say that. Just this, the tribes pump millions into politicians that tend to agree w the treaties and run off ones that want equality. Who’s the ones being divisive again?

[Platensek-po]

Not a jab here, but, if he is center, then how come the tribes support him?  I'm not sure which tribe is actually center in this state, most seem to go left or want the whole thing?  When the tribes support a politician, that makes my radar go off.

Enjoy your Koontz and Smith type of policy makers in the future. People like you WILL pave the way for their successors to navigate the path they have laid.  You are a constant tool of division and are celebrated by ar and anti crowd.  Keep it up, HSUS is counting on you and your likes.  Not intending to be sarcastic at all just real.

well not sure what your acronyms are but because I disagree with most tribal treaties I’m a racist or anti Native American guy? I’d say go, well it’s Christmas so I won’t say that. Just this, the tribes pump millions into politicians that tend to agree w the treaties and run off ones that want equality. Who’s the ones being divisive again?

Saying that you won’t support a politician because tribes do certainly makes you sound racist

[Special T]

This thread is a great example of how sportsmen are thier own worst enemy. If Blake isn't 100% in lockstep with you views find some one who is. Meanwhile the recent anti hunting coalition has sent the governor a letter calling for Koontz replacement to be cut of similar cloth. Would you prefer a different Flavor of anti hunter? Or are you willing to accept an advocate that you may have some disagreements with? Let's not forget this kind of elitist BS is how we lost bait, hounds and real trapping.

Let's not forget we still have an East side vacancy, and we need to send Smith packing. To those of you whom don't like Blake, who do you recommend? Why? Plenty of sportsmen like to get thier panties in a bunch, but don't have alternatives.

[Sundance]

I applied for the open position but have chosen to not make a public push. I worked the channels open to me and made calls for recommendations and will see where the chips fall. If I feel like my chances stall out then I will make a move for public support, otherwise I will wait to see what happens.

[trophyhunt]

Not a jab here, but, if he is center, then how come the tribes support him?  I'm not sure which tribe is actually center in this state, most seem to go left or want the whole thing?  When the tribes support a politician, that makes my radar go off.

Enjoy your Koontz and Smith type of policy makers in the future. People like you WILL pave the way for their successors to navigate the path they have laid.  You are a constant tool of division and are celebrated by ar and anti crowd.  Keep it up, HSUS is counting on you and your likes.  Not intending to be sarcastic at all just real.

well not sure what your acronyms are but because I disagree with most tribal treaties I’m a racist or anti Native American guy? I’d say go, well it’s Christmas so I won’t say that. Just this, the tribes pump millions into politicians that tend to agree w the treaties and run off ones that want equality. Who’s the ones being divisive again?

Saying that you won’t support a politician because tribes do certainly makes you sound racist

flip it around then, does that make you racist? Throwing the racist word around like the left does 24/7, gives it no substance.  Merry Christmas

[trophyhunt]

And for the record, I agree w special T, I never said I was against Blake, just curious about his background with the tribes and rec fishing.  I’d take him over anti hunters, but if he was anti non natives (which I have no evidence to that), I’d have to rethink supporting him.

[baldopepper]

As a commercial guy, I've got a few thoughts -

Not a jab here, but, if he is center, then how come the tribes support him?  I'm not sure which tribe is actually center in this state, most seem to go left or want the whole thing?

I think it's because he's a known entity, and has a reputation to be reasonable.  Looking at the previous appointees from Inslee, that should count for a lot.

Count me out!  We don’t need another shill for the commercial fishing industry on the commission.   

Actually, there are currently zero commercial fishing-oriented members on a commission whose job it is to manage resources for everyone - including commercial interests.  I believe the rule of commission composition states it needs to be "balanced," and I think you'd be hard-pressed to justify a commission as balanced without a commercial fishing guy in there.

Added to the fact that Blake is a rational, reasonable pick, he would also be a strong hunting advocate that would occupy a Western Washington seat.  I'm sure there is a couple of tenured professors at Evergreen State College that would love to be nominated if his confirmation fails.

Sorry, sat thru north of falcon meetings years ago when the commercial people were fighting to be able to catch the last salmon.  Escapment goals meant nothing to them, and they fought hard to get 100 percent of the non tribal share. Can't forgive anyone who was on that side of the table.  Hearing that the commercials endorsed him makes me even more skeptical. 

Man, that's a pretty harsh take on it, and factually incorrect.  Let me fill in a few blanks, correct me if you think I'm wrong-

The commercials have always negotiated for their interests, sure.  But I don't know a single fisherman that wants to end his career by catching the last fish. You do realize the fish being negotiated over were what was the model considered the surplus harvestable population, correct?  Any salmon fishing plan potentially impacting any ESA-listed fish that comes out of North of Falcon requires an approval by National Marine Fisheries Council.  Therefore, all negotiations are for only the harvestable population, and never for the last fish.  If commercials didn't catch them, sport or tribal would. 

. Perhaps a bit harsh on catching the last fish, but at times it sure seemed that way. I think you summed it up when you said commercials always negotiated for their interests (at the expense of the sports fishermen) As I'm sure you know, escapement goals came down to fairly minor tributaries of all the major river systems.  I sat thru one negotiation where the goal was 20 fish and the commercial boys sought a goal of 10 and admitted that at one time that tributary had over 1000+ fish return to it. The math for how that translates to the ultimate fish take quota (as I'm sure you know) is quite complicated but can result in a reduction in the thousands. It also ran  very close to esa listing but would keep nets in the water a little longer for another year. Seemed some (and I'll admit not just the commercials) only worried about 1 year at a time.

[Special T]

And for the record, I agree w special T, I never said I was against Blake, just curious about his background with the tribes and rec fishing.  I’d take him over anti hunters, but if he was anti non natives (which I have no evidence to that), I’d have to rethink supporting him.

Like it or not Tribes have a huge influence on fish and game. It is in our best interest to have some one all consumptive users can talk with. I cannot speak intelligently on fish, but fishing is suffering. Plenty of people like to infight over a shrinking resource which helps nobody. I really like Barebacks previous comment. Zero-Zero= you guessed it Zero.

[pickardjw]

If Mr. Blake is still in Aberdeen this would be a Grays Harbor county At-large seat leaving the last At-large seat an Eastern WA seat still open I believe...

Is there a recommendation out there for the At-large Eastern WA seat?