Not a question of being tough.
Choices lead to a situation he was unwilling to deal with - the dead elk in the dark. "Top Level" hunters should be able to not make choices that put them in undesirable situations.
It appears he got out of the ticket which is unfortunate.
A quote from the hunter said they they didn't want to skin and quarter a dead elk in the dark in grizzly country. Shouldn't have been hunting late in the day in grizzly country then. Several choices lead to this outcome. Got what they deserved. IMHO.
Alaska drop camp for caribou. We landed and unloaded our gear. The hunters that were there loaded up and left. A week later the plane landed and some hunters unloaded. We loaded up and left. Seems like the name of the game there was to cycle as many dudes through as possible.
I have no new solutions. Most everything has been tried and argued about for decades. I agree it's all costly and people hate taxes and love to gripe.
I hope we can recognize there are a lot of resource professionals doing their best with what they have to address the situation they face.
It's complicated. Very complicated.
The person fighting the fire with the pulaski is paid about $20/hour. There isn't enough of them. There isn't the funding for enough of them. College kids aren't rushing into the flames for a $20/hr summer job.
Backcountry vs. threatening homes and...
Risch is just doing the reelection dance. He stood up up when it counted thankfully, but only after intense pressure. I don't see a real public lands supporter in him. We'll have him for another term so I'll hope for the best.