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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> </span></font><font face=Geneva><span style='font-family:Geneva'>Ryan
Broddrick Leaving DFG To Work For Water Agency </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto;text-align:center;text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'>by Dan Bacher </span></font><font
color=black><O:P></O:P><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div style='text-align:auto'>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=6 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
24.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'>Ryan Broddrick, the current Director of
the California Department of Fish and Game, will be leaving the agency on
August 31 to work for the Northern California Water Agency. </span></font><font
size=6 color=black face=Palatino><O:P></O:P><span style='font-size:24.0pt;
font-family:Palatino;color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'>Broddrick was the rare exception among
DFG directors in that he actually rose up through the ranks of the Department,
rather than that being appointed from outside of the agency like most directors
have been over the years. Broddrick had served as Director for the last 3.5
years, capping over 25 years of service to DFG and over 30 years of state
service. He served 3 Governors in appointed positions over his career. </span></font><font
color=black><O:P></O:P><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'>His resignation occurs at a time when
the agency is one of its biggest crises ever as populations of Delta smelt,
longfin smelt, juvenile striped bass and threadfin shad continue to collapse
because of massive increases in Delta water exports in recent years. </span></font><font
color=black><O:P></O:P><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'>Many believe that his resignation was
spurred by the frustration that he and other staff had in getting the
Department of Water Resources to comply with the California Endangered Species
Act by getting a court-ordered “incidental take permit” to kill endangered and
threatened Delta smelt, winter run chinook and spring run chinook. However, in
his letter to the Governor and staff, he gave no indication of any
disappointment or frustration with the administration.</span></font><font
color=black><O:P></O:P><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'> “As most of you know I returned to DFG
from retirement under unprecedented circumstances; a recall election and
significant department deficit,” he stated. “I committed to Governor
Schwarzenegger to turn the lights back on, to celebrate our long tradition of
resource management and set the stage for our continued success and leadership.
Working on your behalf, representing DFG, and the State of <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State> has taken me all over the nation
and that experience has reinforced that DFG initiatives, people, and
performance lead the nation in conservation.” </span></font><font color=black><O:P></O:P><span
style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'>“It is bittersweet to leave you once
again,” he said. “However, an unexpected opportunity to serve as Executive
Director of the Northern California Water Association coincided with extended
family responsibilities and knowing that I could never serve as your Director
without giving 150%, 24/7. In my heart I knew it was time to pass the mantle of
leadership to the next generation.” </span></font><font color=black><O:P></O:P><span
style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'>“I want to make it clear the support
from the Governor and Secretary of Resources has been exceptional and it is
critical that each of you commit to the changes we have undertaken and follow
thru with the initiatives we have started. Remember those changes were
developed internally and while endorsement came from me as your Director, they
will serve the people, wildlife, and employees of DFG thru future generations.
So do not slow down, do not let my departure be the excuse for inertia, do not
wait for someone else to carry the torch, expecting the path will all of a
sudden be less arduous,” he continued.</span></font><font color=black><O:P></O:P><span
style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'>He said that he would complete the
reorganization and selection of staff; review DFG initiatives to insure adequate
resources and focus are brought to bear to produce lasting change.</span></font><font
color=black><O:P></O:P><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'> “I will work diligently to provide a
transition document so that my successor has an appreciation of the incredible
public service DFG provides and the incredible people that make it possible,”
he added.</span></font><font color=black><O:P></O:P><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'>At press time, there was no announcement
of a replacement for his position. His successor will have to be appointed by
the Governor. Broddrick was hired in his latest position after leaving the DFG
and going to work for Ducks Unlimited as the conservation director for three
years.</span></font><font color=black><O:P></O:P><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'>Staff I have spoken to praised him as a
director. “He was the rare director who came up through the ranks,” said Steve
Martarano, spokesman for the DFG. “He was highly respected by the staff. If
would be hard to find anybody who had something to say about him. He was a true
Fish and Gamer – and people are not happy about the fact that he’s leaving.
What made him unique among directors was his Fish and Game background.”</span></font><font
color=black><O:P></O:P><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'>Representatives of fishing and conservation
organizations, although they came in conflict with him on a number of issues,
including Marine Protected Areas and the spending of Bay Delta Stamp and
Striped Bass Committee funds, were also sad to see him go.</span></font><font
color=black><O:P></O:P><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'>“I talked to him at the Recreational
Fishing Alliance Dinner in May and it was clear that Broddrick was under a lot
of strain,” said John Beuttler, conservation director of the California
Sportfishing Protection Alliance, “so in a way his resignation was not a
surprise. My perspective is that we lost one of the best directors that DFG
ever had. The problem is that the Governor didn’t let him do his job of
directing.”</span></font><font color=black><O:P></O:P><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'>It was very clear, in spite of
Broddrick’s words praising the Governor and his staff in his memo to staff,
that he was under a tremendous amount of pressure by the Governor to not comply
with Oakland Superior Judge Frank Roesch’s order requiring DWR to obtain an
incidental take permit for killing endangered species in the state’s export
pumps in the South Delta.</span></font><font color=black><O:P></O:P><span
style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'>During a hearing of the State Senate
Natural Resources Committee on March 28, Senator Mike Machado and other
Senators grilled a clearly uncomfortable Broddrick about his failure to get the
take permit.</span></font><font color=black><O:P></O:P><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'>"The reality is you didn't take the
step to try to enforce the law,” said Machado.</span></font><font color=black><O:P></O:P><span
style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'>“Correct," Broddrick answered him.</span></font><font
color=black><O:P></O:P><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'>Beuttler noted that the Governor slashed
$ 20 million from Broddrick’s proposed budget, sending the Department into
“permanent fiscal crisis.” In spite of the budget shortfall, Broddrick managed
to find money to cover the bases by his utilization of a great deal of
know-how, resulting in fiscal recovery in 2006-2007.</span></font><font
color=black><O:P></O:P><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'>More recently, the Director issued a
letter to DWR in “no uncertain terms” that the Department should stop export
pumping to prevent the killing of additional Delta smelt in the state pumps.
‘“It’s important to recognize that he took the stand that the pumps were a
problem when the Department of Water Resources was saying that toxics, not
export pumping, were killing Delta smelt,” said Beuttler. </span></font><font
color=black><O:P></O:P><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'>“I think that the administration’s lack
of support for him demonstrates the failure of the administration to take
advantage of the leadership of one of the most qualified directors in DFG
history.”</span></font><font color=black><O:P></O:P><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'>I agree with Beuttler. Governor
Schwarzenegger, under control of the corporate interests that funded his
campaign, repeatedly put Broddrick in uncomfortable positions where he was
forced into an untenable position between his responsibility for protecting the
resource and following the orders of the Governor and his staff. I believe that
Broddrick probably would have stayed with the DFG if the Governor had provided
more support – and hadn’t continually politically interfered with science-based
fish and wildlife decisions.</span></font><font color=black><O:P></O:P><span
style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'>At the same time, I wish that Broddrick
had made more of a public stand in opposition to the Governor’s refusal to
comply with a court order over protecting Delta smelt. I find it hard to
believe Broddrick’s statement that “support from the Governor and Secretary of
Resources has been exceptional” when the Governor and Secretary of Resources
put him in such a compromised position in regard to the Delta smelt crisis.</span></font><font
color=black><O:P></O:P><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'>I also find it curious that Broddrick,
by accepting a position with the Northern California Water Agency, has gone
from his position of DFG Director to work for the “other side” – a private
water agency. Doesn’t that appear to be a clear conflict of interest? </span></font><font
color=black><O:P></O:P><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'>More and more, political appointees in
the federal and state governments are jumping back and forth between being
protectors of the public trust and lobbyists for special interests often at
odds with protecting fish and wildlife.</span></font><font color=black><O:P></O:P><span
style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-indent:9.0pt'><font size=3 color=black face=Geneva><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Geneva;color:black'> <O:P></O:P></span></font><font
color=black><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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