Board nominees still waiting; Linnell draws opposition over potential conflicts
Hunting April 12, 2017 Lee Leschper
Update on this story:
Governor Bill Walker’s nominees for the Alaska Boards of Fisheries and of Game are among the almost 100 boards and commission appointments still awaiting Legislative approval.
And based on the most recent non-meeting, they may be waiting for a while. The House and Senate met for minutes on Friday to consider the appointments, but immediately adjourned on a party-line vote without taking action.
The boards set the framework for regulations on sport, commercial and subsistence fishing and hunting in Alaska.
Current Board of Fisheries members John Jenson, Reed Morisky and Sue Jeffrey are up for reappointment, from terms expiring June 30.
But it’s the Board of Game nominees that are getting most of the attention.
The Alaska Outdoor Council (AOC) is opposing the confirmation of Karen Linnell to the Alaska Board of Game (BOG), saying that Linnell has a clear conflict of interest because of her role with Ahtna Inc.
AOC challenged its members and others to contact legislators and ask them to vote NO on Ms. Linnell’s confirmation. Confirmation votes were originally scheduled in the legislature April 13, but have been postponed several times.
According to an AOC release:
“Three weeks after being appointed to the Board of Game Ms. Linnell signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) to form a partnership between DOI and the Ahtna Intertribal Resource Commission (AITRC) to provide a quota of moose for Alaska native villages in the Ahtna region.
“By signing a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the DOI Ms. Linnell created an intractable conflict of interest. On one hand, she is a signatory to an agreement that allocates a public resource to a specific group, but on the other hand, as a member of the board of game she is bound by the Alaska State Constitution to allocate game equally to all Alaskans. (Article VIII, Section 3 Common Use).
“On January 13th of this year Ms. Linnell, as executive director of AITRC, presented their MOA to the Federal Subsistence Board (FSB). Ms. Linnell stated to the FSB members: “So why we’re here today is to talk a little bit about this MOA and what it can do. And this is going to — could lead to a unified tribal, State, and Federal co-management structure.”
In its release today , AOC said:
“AOC supports state management of public resources, and opposes the erosion of state authority to manage our fish and game. Ms. Linnell advocates giving up state authority. She should not be on the Board of Game if she cannot abide by the Alaska Constitution.”
At last week’s Anchorage Advisory Board meeting, several speakers including AOC’s Rod Arno said her appointment amounted to setting a racial preference for allocation of game animals.
Here is the biography of Linnell provided in the press release announcing her appointment in November:
A lifelong subsistence hunter and fisher, Karen Linnell has over a decade of experience working on fish and game management issues in her region. She is a current board member of Ahtna, Incorporated, the Executive Director of the Copper River-Ahtna Inter-Tribal Resource Conservation District, and Chair of the Wrangell-St. Elias Subsistence Resource Commission. Additionally, she has served on the Copper River Basin Fish and Game Advisory Committee for over eight years
AOC provided the links below supporting the objection:
https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.
http://alaskaoutdoorcouncil.
http://alaskaoutdoorcouncil.
