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New details emerge in Alaska wildlife chief's resignationOfficials of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game on Friday refused to release the letter of resignation submitted by former Director of Wildlife Conservation Corey Rossi, a man now charged in what looks to be an increasingly messy illegal bear hunt. Rossi, according to court documents, didn't just cover up bear kills made by two wealthy out-of-state hunters. He also used the name of a guide he apparently didn't know to book the 2008 hunts. At the time, Rossi was a licensed assistant guide and needed the name of a licensed registered guide on paperwork to make the hunt legal. Rossi used the name of guide Joe Dilley of Kenai. Dilley said Friday he was shocked when Alaska Wildlife Troopers showed up at his home in December wanting to see his records for a bear hunt with three men he didn't know. Dilley said he explained to troopers he hadn't taken the men in question on any hunt. Troopers then told Dilley his assistant guide -- Corey Rossi -- said otherwise. Dilley's reaction was simple: Who is Corey Rossi? He knows now. A former federal wildlife-control agent, a man without formal training in wildlife management, Rossi secured a job in state government because he was a friend of Chuck and Sally Heath, the parents of former Gov. Sarah Palin. Palin hired him to a special job in the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Palin's successor, Gov. Sean Parnell, later approved Rossi's promotion to director of wildlife. Exactly why has never been clear given that many wildlife professionals -- including a significant number of the biologists employed by Fish and Game -- objected to the move. Exactly when Rossi quit as state wildlife director remains unclear. Fish and Game spokeswoman Nancy Long said she couldn't release Rossi's resignation letter because the agency considers it part of his confidential employment record. It is known that Fish and Game Commissioner Cora Campbell held some sort of emergency meeting with staff Thursday afternoon to discuss Rossi’s departure. At 5:48 p.m. Thursday, Campbell sent a three-sentence email to Fish and Game employees, announcing Rossi had resigned for "personal reasons," thanking Rossi for his service, and naming an assistant director of the division to assume Rossi's duties. Campbell was in Anchorage Friday at a meeting of the state Board of Game. Long said the commissioner was too busy to answer questions. She said that Campbell was “in the middle of a Board of Game meeting” but might be able to respond to questions by email. Several Fish and Game biologists, meanwhile, used the same word to describe the short message Campbell sent staff notifying everyone of Rossi's departure but skipping the details: Embarrassing. Rossi, it should be noted, has not been convicted of any crime. He has only been charged. He could be proven not guilty. But at the moment the situation looks bad for an organization that has long prided itself on responsible management of Alaska fish and wildlife. Rossi on Friday refused to comment on the 12 charges he faces. When Alaska Dispatch called his Palmer residence, a woman answered and simply stated that Rossi "had nothing to say." Contact Craig Medred at craig(at)alaskadispatch.com by Laughing Bear: Rossi's arrest for poaching is just one more example of BIG GOVERNMENT SOCIALISM interfering with Alaskans living the Alaskan life style (of the late 1800's), without the need to sweat, courtesy of every form of mechanical transportation dear to the heart of big game hunters and big business. Rossi and his buddies have the right idea. Let’s end public ownership of wildlife. Commercial big game guiding is just a baby step in privatization. Let’s go all the way and divide Alaska into a few dozen corporate game ranches. Let them own and manage our wildlife. Let entrepreneurs sell moose and caribou to the highest bidders. Let the market decide whether wolves and bears should be conserved or killed, without interference from bleeding lung liberal environmentalists. Capitalism at its best, cutting government costs, creating profits, jobs, tax revenues, and more graft for politicians. Uh oh. How would that affect me? My family? My neighbors? No more Alaskan life style for anyone except millionaires who like pretending to be mountain men. No more moose steaks or caribou sausage on our tables. No more jobs for the thousands of Alaskans supported by the $700 million spent here each year by folks who want to howl with wolves or watch bears nursing cubs and sparring in our streams. Opps. Time to re-read our Constitution and restore common sense, science and integrity in Alaska's resource management. Before Rossi and his ilk took control of Alaska’s Department of Fish & Game, we had one of the world's best wildlife management programs, based on solid science. Wolves and bears were "controlled" only where this could reliably help ungulate populations; and then the wolf and bear populations were allowed to recover. The kind of predator that really needs "intensive management" walks on two legs, not four, and tries to consume everything it can grasp with its sticky palms. Time for the 99% to take back control of our natural resources. During the Palin/Parnell era, ADF&G has, with its abundance based ideology (i.e. game ranching), become a socialistic entitlement agency that wants to put a moose/caribou in every hunters freezer - regardless of conservation principles or hunting ethics. To make matters worse, the BOG is aggressively trying to privatize Alaska’s wildlife resources by passing regulations that favor commercial hunting and commercial services for hunters, like expensive guided trips for non-residents. What is lost in this resource grab is the Constitutional mandate that says wildlife is a common use resource that needs to be managed for sustainability and diversity as well as abundance. All user groups deserve both respect and opportunity. Speaking as both an Alaskan hunter and wildlife observer, I don’t think my nonconsumptive use of wildlife is given respect by the reigning ideology. Furthermore, as a hunter who prefers to use skills instead of motors, I think my opportunities to hunt are being compromised by BOG regulations that favor the industrial approach to hunting. The Rossi debacle makes clear that it’s time for change. Legacy from the woman who battles cronyism and claims to have taken corruption on while in office. Why is it anyone even distantly associated with the Palin Tribe eventually appears to be some how connected with illegal activity? "...Gov. Sean Parnell, later approved Rossi's promotion to director of wildlife. Exactly why has never been clear...". Kinda makes a person wonder about the continual delays of those Palin e-mails...Open and transparent who??? Not just Parnell. Alaska's been spotlighted, and illumination has revealed corruption and poor management in many arenas. I hope that the boom in the Dakotas reduces Alaska's populace to those who will stay despite the economic benefits or lack thereof, leaves us to ourselves and our own devices, and makes Alaska attractive, not in an economic sense, but for the quality of life not tolerated elsewhere in America. Good-bye pipeline riches across the board, hello life as it was. Hang the thievin' b******s who would cheat to benefit themselves. Thank you Governor Parnell for helping to ensure Alaska remains at the top of the list of most corrupt states. We couldn't do it without your tireless efforts. just beautiful... really, couldn't be scripted better by a discovery channel "reality" show. |
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