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<h1 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Senators delay confirmation of California
Fish and Game chief<o:p></o:p></span></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Sacramento
Bee – 2/26/09<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:14.0pt'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>By Matt Weiser </span></b><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>State
senators Wednesday postponed the confirmation of Fish and Game Director Donald
Koch, saying a hearing on the matter raised bigger issues about the department
itself – and how regulators are managing California's beleaguered
environment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>The
Senate Rules Committee instead wants to question Koch's boss, Natural Resources
Secretary Mike Chrisman, about whether the Schwarzenegger administration is
truly committed to protecting the state's waterways and fish species.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>"People
respect you, and rightfully so," committee Chairman Darrell Steinberg,
D-Sacramento, told Koch. "But it's not just about you. It's about the
direction of the department." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Koch
was appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in April 2008. A 30-year veteran of
the department, Koch is former director of the Fish and Game's North Coast
region and came out of retirement to accept its top position.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>"Senator
Steinberg and Secretary Chrisman have a great relationship, and we look forward
to talking in the next few weeks," said Sandy Cooney, spokesman for the
state's Natural Resources Agency.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>The
decision to put off Koch's confirmation came after a three-hour hearing in
which little direct opposition emerged to Koch's appointment. In fact, more
than a dozen witnesses spoke in his favor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>"The
association believes that with Mr. Koch, the department will be in very good
hands," said Anthony Thomas, vice president of government affairs for the
California Forestry Association.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>But
many also raised concerns about whether Koch, even with the best intentions,
would be able to do right by the state's environment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Koch
steps into the Fish and Game spotlight amid great turmoil in the department and
throughout the state.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Several
witnesses complained the department has failed to fulfill its law-enforcement
responsibilities, whether by not hiring enough game wardens or by not asserting
its permit authority over matters such as timber harvesting and stream
alterations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Of
particular concern to some was the department's recent refusal to halt
recreational suction-dredge mining, which the department's own scientists
assert damages fish habitat. Another raised by several witnesses is inadequate
protection of endangered salmon populations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Few
speakers blamed Koch for these problems. But they said the department has been
starved of the money and authority it needs to carry out its responsibilities.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>"It's
tragic our state professes to be a leader in the 'green' movement, but will not
hire or maintain enough staffing to protect our natural resources," said
Jerry Karnow, a game warden and legislative liaison to the California Fish and
Game Wardens Association. "At this time, the wardens association will not
offer an endorsement of any director appointed by this governor."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Karnow
noted the department employs only about 220 field-level game wardens to police
wildlife crimes statewide. And last week, more than 90 of them got layoff
notices as part of the administration's effort to balance the state budget.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Whether
those layoffs go forward remains unclear.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>“You may have a good
man in a bad department,” said Zeke Grader, executive director of Pacific
Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations.</span><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Byron
Leydecker, JcT</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Chair, Friends
of Trinity River</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>PO Box 2327</span></i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Mill Valley, CA
94942-2327</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 4810
land</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 519 4810
cell</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net"><span style='color:blue'>bwl3@comcast.net</span></a></span></i></b><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org"><span style='color:blue'>bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</span></a>
</span></i></b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>(secondary)</span></i><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="http://fotr.org/"><span style='color:blue'>http://www.fotr.org</span></a>
</span></i></b><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
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