Larry shoots best shot and misses

 

Larry Johnson did everything possible to keep “his boys” on the Wildlife Commission. It didn’t work. Governor Gibbons wanted people on the Wildlife Commission who want to bring back those once famous Nevada mule deer herds. “Larry’s boys” were more concerned about the 150 people hunting sheep than the 51,011 who used to hunt deer.  Larry went so far as to send the following notice to all the county advisory game boards and sportsmen’s groups.

 

Reprinted from The Sparks Tribune

Some sportsmen’s groups are attacking Gov. Jim Gibbons, claiming “unease” for him being a “conservative western Republican” while serving in the U.S. Congress.

 

Not surprisingly, some of these same, who, by the way, DO NOT poll their membership before making such outlandish comments, were big fans of liberals such as Kenny Guinn and Harry Reid.

 

I know that for a fact, since I am a lifetime member of one of the most prominent critics, Nevada Bighorns Unlimited (NBU). Much to my embarrassment, one so-called spokesman for NBU, Larry Johnson, even went so far as to claim “Harry Reid saved hunting in Nevada,” a statement Reid quite wisely used in a campaign mailer targeted to fishing and hunting license holders throughout the state.

 

Reid saved hunting? What a joke. Without belaboring the point, a handful of anti-Gibbons types are being quoted as supposedly representing the views of certain organizations but in fact are simply expressing their own distorted views.

 

So  the current attack, well documented in a large article by Associated Press writer Sandra Chereb in last Sunday’s Sparks Tribune, is an attempt to keep Gibbons from properly exercising his prerogative and replace members of the Nevada State Wildlife Commission with his own choices. They want Gibbons’ enemy and former Gov. Kenny Guinn’s appointed commissioners reappointed.

 

Apparently, they believe Gibbons is too stupid to make wise choices. Not surprisingly, both of those they want reappointed are former board members of NBU. I am not sying the two commissioners in question are not good men; in fact, I respect both of them and have high regard especially for Jim Jeffress, whose opinions I deeply value. I am saying that Gibbons is fully capable of selecting others equally qualified without needing to pander to the elitist NBU mentality.

 

Another group criticizing Gibbons and supposedly representing sportsmen is the Coalition for Nevada’s Wildlife. As a founding member of this coalition, I know a great deal about its makeup.

 

Originally, many sportsmen’s groups started with this coalition, formed at a meeting in Winnemucca in 1993. I was at that original meeting and was an active participant on the board for about three years thereafter. However, since NBU was and remains today the primary source of its funds, it gradually eroded away from representing many divergent views to instead being simply a front for NBU. In fact, when we held the original elections for officers, that point was made very clear, and NBU board member Larry Johnson was selected as president. Now, about 14 years later, surprise, surprise – that same Larry Johnson remains president. The idea of a “coalition” is a joke. Divergent views are, in fact, not welcomed.

 

The current complaints about Gibbons really boil down to an elitist view of how wildlife in Nevada should be managed. The Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) has the management responsibility, and frankly, has been for years spending disproportionate time and efforts on programs catering to groups like NBU at the cost of the rank-and-file sportsman.

 

For example, Nevada has less than 200 bighorn sheep tags available yearly so only a tiny share of Nevada sportsmen has a chance at getting such a tag. By comparison, up to 30,000 to 50,000 deer tags are available in a good year. Despite these huge differences, NDOW focuses a grossly disproportionate amount of time, dollars and effort on the bighorn sheep, and the influence of groups like NBU is one of the reasons why.

 

Gibbons was elected with the support of smaller sportsmen’s groups on the promise to bring balance back to the wildlife equation. For the good of all sportsmen, not a handful of the rich and powerful, he should honor his campaign pledges and restructure the commission as he sees fit.

 

Ira Hansen is a lifelong resident of Sparks, owner of Ira Hansen and Sons Plumbing and his radio talk show can be heard Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. on 99.1 FM.

In the last legislative session, HUNTER’S ALERT sponsored Assembly Bill 259. The intent of this bill was to save more deer by increasing the mountain lion harvest. This bill met with virulent opposition from every Wildlife Commissioner, some sportsmen, and especially from Larry Johnson and his Coalition for Nevada’s Wildlife. They flooded the Natural Resources, Agriculture and Mining committee with incorrect information. They were unaware that the bill had been already been amended to remove much of the language in question. However, Larry just didn’t bother to take the time to get up to speed on the bill’s updated language.

 

In the 2005 legislative session, HUNTER’S ALERT and Nevada Hunters Association sponsored a bill to audit a very small part of Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW). The bill passed with the help of Assemblyman Jerry Claborn. Jerry realized how badly NDOW was being mismanaged for many years. Getting the bill passed was not easy as NDOW had their favorite puppet, Larry Johnson there testifying against the bill. Larry’s feeble excuse was that NDOW couldn’t afford the audit. As usual, Larry didn’t know what he was talking about as there was no additional cost to perform this audit. Larry failed to realize that if you don’t stand up for what is right, you are wrong.

In the April-June, 2006 NBU (Nevada Bighorns Unlimited) newsletter, Larry Johnson wrote an article entitled "NDOW-An Agency in Crisis".   HUNTER’S ALERT and Nevada Hunters Association have stated this for seventeen years. If it takes a person seventeen years to figure this out, that person is not very smart about wildlife issues. That is why it is time for Larry to go. Below are excerpts from Larry’s article and HUNTER’S ALERT’S response.

THE GOOD: SENATE BILL 127 • THE BAD: GOVERNOR MILLER • THE UGLY: POLITICS

Senate Bill 127 was requested by HUNTER'S ALERT for a bill draft almost a year before the 1997 legislative session was to begin. One of the most important parts of this bill was that all county advisory boards to manage wildlife would submit nominations to the governor of qualified people for appointment to the Wildlife Commission. The governor would then be required to select from these lists. Knowledgeable people who have attended county advisory board and Wildlife Commission meetings would then have a chance to be appointed to the Commission. These are people who have donated their time without pay or perks involved. People who know fish and game issues, not just who know the governor. This is grass roots government - for the people -by the people.

hunters and fishermen can expect improvement in their favorite outdoor activities in the not too distant future, thanks to passage of AB307, restructuring the state's Wildlife Commission. The Commission, originally all sportsmen, was changed, starting in 1979. Out of nine members, four remained sportsmen representatives, and the other five were divided amongst several different groups. The Governor got to make all the selections to the board. The sportsmen agreed to these changes, based on the assurance that the state would now help fund a large portion of the wildlife budget. In retrospect, the sportsmen were naive and got taken to the cleaners. What happened? Well, the sportsmen still paid virtually all the bills; the Governor appointed a bunch of political cronies with limited interest or background in fish and game matters; and, the Commission and the fish and game agency they were supposed to guide began to follow an increasingly environmentalist direction, with a corresponding decline in programs that would directly benefit the average guy who hunted or fished in Nevada.

HUNTER'S ALERT again has shown it can get the job done. A.B.307, a HUNTER'S ALERT sponsored bill, was recently signed by Governor Miller. It is a giant step forward in the effort to improve hunting in our state. A.B.307 will add another sportsman to the Wildlife Commission. Even more important is that the five sportsman representatives must have held a Nevada hunting, fishing, or combination license for three of the four prior years as a prerequisite. Other parts of the bill will help sportsmen in our state. We did not get everything that we wanted but you never do. What we did get was a great starting point.

Sept. 1 is coming up quickly. This date has always been greatly anticipated by area hunters. It's the opening day of dove season, the start of fall hunting. Times change; my hunter instinct has mellowed with age, but my son's are just budding. My oldest boy will experience his first Nevada deer hunt this season. He will be the fifth generation of his family to hunt here; his great-great grandfather lived and hunted in Lincoln County in the 1870's.

• CARSON VALLEY CHUKAR CLUB
• DUCKS UNLIMITED ELKO BIGHORNS UNLIMITED
• ELKO CO. CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION
• FRATERNITY OF THE DESERT BIGHORN
• FRIENDS OF PYRAMID LAKE HUMBOLDT HUNTING CLUB
• LANDER GUN CLUB THE MULE DEER FOUNDATION
• NEVADA BIGHORNS UNLIMITED, RENO
• NEVADA BOWIIUNTERS ASSOCIATION
• NEVADA CHUKAR FOUNDATION
• NEVADA CONSERVATION COMMITTEE
• NEVADA ROUNDSMEN & SPORTSMEN FOR CONSERVATION
• NEVADA PUBLIC ACCESS
• NEVADA TRAPPERS ASSOCIATION
• NEVADA WATERFOWL ASSOCIATION
• NEVADA WDLDLD7E FEDERATION
• NEW WHITE PINE SPORTSMEN'S CLUB
• ORMSBY SPORTSMEN'S ASSOCIATION
• SILVER ARROW BOWMEN
• TROUT UNLIMITED, NORTHEASTERN NEVADA CHAPTER
• TROUT UNLIMITED, SAGEBRUSH CHAPTER
• WILDLIFE HABITAT IMPROVEMENT OF NEVADA

HUNTER'S ALERT, Nevada Hunters Association, and The Nevada State Rifle and Pistol Association are in agreement when it comes to the fact that many fine organizations in our state are being misled by the Coalition for Nevada's Wildlife. First and foremost, we do believe that a coalition is necessary to save our hunting rights. We do not, however, believe that a coalition Should be formed to represent their self-serving claims while stating that they are representing many outdoor organizations