For five years, HUNTER’S ALERT has proved to our readers that Clint Bentley should never have been appointed to the Wildlife Commission. We hate to have to keep proving this, but when Clint Bentley keeps giving us more proof, we will just have to keep presenting it.

A state audit conducted on NDOW was completed in December, 2006. The audit showed how former NDOW Director Terry Crawforth mismanaged the agency. There are many accounts of his failure to manage the money properly. He violated laws on numerous occasions. In addition, millions of sportsmen’s dollars were misappropriated.

At the September, 2006 Wildlife Commission meeting, Clint Bentley stated that “he would like to comment that the budget process and presentation received on this particular go-around was more concise and he was able to follow it and understand it.”

Able to understand it? Clint Bentley couldn’t find the misappropriation of millions of dollars? If he had reviewed the budget like the law states and understand it like he stated, he would have caught these glaring violations. It’s really simple. Either he didn’t understand it, he didn’t review it or he didn’t care.

As a public servant and chairman of the Wildlife Heritage Trust Fund Committee, Clint Bentley did not conduct a proper public meeting on May 10, 2007. In addition to starting the meeting one half hour late, he did not have a public comment period in his agenda. This is required by law and is a violation of Nevada’s open meeting law. When he was reminded of this, he stopped the meeting and only then had a public comment period. Does this sound like a commissioner who knows what he is doing after five years?

At this same meeting, he also accepted late projects, ignoring the law (NAC 501-300). It specifically states: “An application for a project must be substantially completed and received by the secretary of the Commission at the headquarters of the Department between January 1 and March 1.” To further illustrate his arrogance, Commissioner Bentley requested the Director to process two more late projects after the deadline! These are just a few more reasons to once again prove that he doesn’t know what the hell he is doing, which is what he has proven since he became a commissioner. No governor would be proud of an appointment like Clint Bentley.