How Slow Does Your State G&F Move?

[Eric Patterson]

Nearly four years ago the levee for a favorite gunning spot was breached by flood waters. I have exchanged numerous emails with the District II biologist and the WMA biologist and each time they've reassured repairs would be made but they were waiting for assistance from others. In the beginning I was told they were waiting on a bid from a qualified contractor. Then I was told they were working with DU biologists to come up with a solution that would solve issues created by beavers. Now I'm being told they are waiting on a grant from TVA and DU.

So tell me, how many agencies, biologists, contractors, etc. etc. does it take to plug a levee? Looks to me like a few dump truck loads and a little dozer work would accomplish the repair. Yet nearly four years have gone by and still no repair. I keep getting responses of the nature "We will fix it, we just need something from this or that..."

Enough with the excuses, FIX IT. Anbody here have DU contacts that can look into when the grant check will be cut? The state doesn't seem to know. Thomas and I sure miss hunting this flooded timber. Frankly, I feel like the state is shirking its responsibility to maintain resources. They recently purchased a tract of land (Coon Gulf) not far away and were there quickly with heavy equipment clearing roads, etc.. For the life of me I can't understand why it's so difficult to dump a few loads of dirt in a hole. I get the impression fixing the levee is way down their priority list.

I'm usually one who defends the state G&F when others portray them as lazy and uncaring but damn they are making a case for those opinions.

 

[Jeff Smith]

Is that Thomas with his BoPeep? It is a damn shame that the Alabama F & G is charging us a dumptruck load more cash to hunt the management areas and can't find a dumptruck.

 

[Huntindave McCann]

Eric,

Someone there probably wants everyone to forget about how good an area it WAS to hunt. Once nobody is no longer interested in having it fixed,,,,,thats when it will quietly get fixed and only a select few will know about it right away. At least that is what happened real close by up here.

Some private property was going to be transferred to the state to be used as a hunting and fishing access. It actually took several years for the transfer and details to be worked out. During that time period the property was still in the name of the private party. Anyone calling the DNR to inquire about hunting the property was told that it was not open to the public yet.

Trouble was, the local DNR officer and a couple of his buddies were in there hunting it like it was their personal hunt club. When the private party that actually still owned the land found out about it, words were exchanged and it almost put a halt to the eventual transfer of the land. Yes the property owner caught the officer on the land hunting one day and the officer tried to tell the property owner that he (the property owner) had to leave because the land was not "open for use".

I do hope your people down there get it fixed and you and Thomas can once again enjoy hunting there.

 

[Eric Patterson]

Dave

That is one brazen officer. I wonder if his superiors took any actions.

The picture above was from one of the last hunts taken there. Thomas has grown quite a bit in the last four years so to me it shows just how slow the process is moving and the time lost. I just wish they would do something other than talk about what they are doing and what they are waiting for. Four years makes me think they have little interest in making repairs. This area is, make that was, an area of high hunter usage so it's not like I'm the only one affected and want my own little spot taken care of. A lot of hunters are now missing out. As Jeff mentioned we are paying usage fee, yet basic maintenance is being ignored.

 

[Dave Sikorski]

The nature of a bureaucracy. The only thing they do quickly is go to lunch.

Don't get me wrong, I know a lot of good folks that work at out DNR, but between politics, budget "issues", and a web of regulatory and legal messes.....well, don't hold your breath for anything.

-D

 

[greg setter]

And that is the absolute silliness of government agencies. And all of the parties involved will show their emails, and forms, and the paper trail that allows them to be sub-productive, and those above them will accept that. What you really need is for a management person in fish and game to just send a load of dirt over there, dump it, move on, and let the paper trail die. But very few bureaucrats would ever have the gumption to do something like that, which is all that is really necessary.

 

[Jeff Reardon]

Eric:

If they're "waiting on a grant" before they can do the work, my guess would be they'll do this as soon as they get the money. If the work is as simple as you describe, it might not take much to come up with the money from another source to speed things along.

One thing about government agencies--they don't make their own budgets, and they don't have the flexibility a private entity would to move money from one project to another.

 

[Eric Patterson]

Jeff

That is the same thing they told me. "As soon as we get the grant money we will fix it." But a year before they said that they told me they were looking for a contractor to do the work and all they needed was one who was qualified by the state. What happened to the money for that contractor? I know exactly what you are saying as I've done fed government contract work most of my career. I also know if the money isn't there one year you push the work out a year when you do have the money. Pushing money for a very small project out year after year after year says it isn't important. I think maintaining existing structure is important and they should have taken care of this. Four years is too long. So I agree with what you are saying and know it to be true, to a point, but too much time has gone by. If it were one maybe two years I'd say you were on target. But four years?

As I think back to the location where the levee failed there used to be a screw gate there. Some number of years back they removed the screw gate. I wonder if they didn't compromise the levee by doing that. Not that it matters now.

 

[Jeff Reardon]

Eric:

Take this for what it's intended as--an explanation and not an excuse.

For the money managers--who in my experience are usually different people from the people who plan and do the work--any small project is a low priority. Their job is to make the books balance at the end of the year. Small expenses and small sources of income don't have much bearing on that, so they don't get a lot of attention. It takes a manager who makes the project a priority to make them focus on it.

Good luck with it. We don't have much for flood control infrastructure/water management infrastructure up here. When I have water problems I have to blame mother nature. Complaining to her is even less effective than complaining to the bureaucrats!

 

[Eric Patterson]

It takes a manager who makes the project a priority to make them focus on it.

Yes, exactly. I don't know if there is such a manager, maybe, maybe not. Like I said, it seems to be a low priority based on the time span since the levee broke. I hope I'm wrong and it will be fixed in the coming weeks, but I'm not getting that feeling. I emailed them again on the 13th. Maybe they will reply with some good news. If not I feel entitled to bitch.