DGIF must restore trust

Virginia's hunters and anglers may have to pay a little more to enjoy their hobbies over the next couple years -- but only because bullets, bait and other gear will probably cost more.

While inflation affects the cost of just about everything sportsmen buy, the prices of fishing and hunting licenses will remain flat, as they have essentially since 1988.

The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has abandoned its plan to pursue fee increases during the upcoming regulations review cycle, which will put new rules in place by July 1, 2006. Assuming that the department doesn't make an off-cycle move on fees, the earliest we will likely see fee increases will be 2008.

Think about that. How many other things can you think of that cost the same now as they did in 1988?

It's not that the department doesn't want to raise fees.

The 2004 General Assembly passed legislation that gave the department the authority to make reasonable adjustments to hunting and fishing license fees.

Last October, the agency's board of directors asked the department's staff to look into various license fee increase proposals. The board was interested in identifying fee increases that wouldn't be offset by a large decrease in license sales.

The board asked that the information be ready by its next meeting, in March. That seemed to all but assure that a fee increase proposal would be included with other regulations issues during this regulations adjustment cycle.

Well, the March meeting took place Thursday and there wasn't the first mention of license fee increases.

It's no mystery why the department punted on fee increases.

Any hunter or fisherman who doesn't live under a rock knows the game department is under investigation for alleged spending improprieties.

In short, some of the agency's top officials are accused of unwise and potentially even extravagant spending at a time when the department was cutting programs and laying off employees to deal with budget shortfalls.

It's entirely possible the investigation will turn up no evidence of deliberate fraud, waste or abuse. Furthermore, in the context of the department's roughly $45 million budget, the dollar amounts at issue are miniscule.

However, the mere fact that there is an investigation has tested the trust of the state's sportsmen.

Hunters, anglers and boaters provide a large portion of the department's revenue, and sportsmen want to know and deserve to know that their money is being spent appropriately.

At Thursday's meeting some citizens called for a leadership change at the department, but many spoke in support of the agency's director, Bill Woodfin, who is among the officials under investigation.

Robert Merhige of Virginia Beach took exception to the attention being given some purchases, such as a $240 pair of boots for Woodfin.

"Anyone who thinks that's extravagant needs to shop someplace other than Wal-Mart," Merhige said.

The remark drew laughs, including a chuckle from Woodfin, who was otherwise withdrawn and quiet during the meeting.

The thing is, many Virginia hunters and anglers do shop at Wal-Mart because they are trying to stretch their family's tight budgets.

Until word of this investigation became public, many of those hunters and fishermen would have willingly dug a little deeper into their pockets to come up with a few more dollars for hunting and fishing licenses.

They know that the game department does a lot of great things for Virginia sportsmen. They know Virginia's licenses are among the least expensive in the country, and they know that a modest increase is due.

But now there is that shadow of doubt.

A long-lasting, high-quality, $240 pair of boots might not be extravagant in the eyes of some, but it is in the eyes of plenty of folks who buy their boots, bullets, fishing lures and licenses at Wal-Mart.

Game department officials know this. They know that pushing for fee increases while this investigation is under way would have only compounded their ongoing public relations nightmare.

So instead of pursuing license fee increases Thursday, the department's board implemented a spending oversight plan. That move is designed not only to prevent future spending scandals, but also as a step toward restoring public trust in the department.

Officials certainly must hope that trust is restored by the time the next regulation cycle rolls around. Sportsmen should hope so, too.

If it's not, and license fees continue to languish, the department could eventually face an unprecedented budget crisis, one that hurts not only the agency, but the sportsmen who count on its programs.

http://www.roanoke.com/outdoors/20937.html