To the editor:
Denby Lloyd, the nominee for commissioner of the Department of Fish & Game, materially misled the Senate Resources Committee at his recent confirmation hearing. He testified he would manage Alaska's wildlife resources based on "science" and that he would be "neutral" and in fact, "squeaky clean neutral" regarding allocation decisions.
Last year Alaska's Legislature changed the duties of the commissioner which now require him to support consumptive uses of Alaska's game resources. Incredibly, the weekend before his hearing, Lloyd had his staff testify to the Board of Game against allowing hunting of brown bears on the Alaska Peninsula, even though there was no scientific basis to restrict harvest. This on the heels of calling a department-sponsored sheep hunting proposal that passed that kills 90 percent of the opportunity for Alaskans to hunt in that area.
At best, Lloyd is uninformed, and misled the Legislature. At worst, his testimony was deliberately untruthful. In either case, because his nomination occurred by an illegal action of the Joint Boards in nominating only a single person, and because this nominee's testimony was misleading, he should not be confirmed by our Legislature.
Yours truly,
Mike Tinker / Ester | 
