PEAX Equipment

AK Director and SFW Board Member Busted

Running damage control is my guess.

I bet Benson, Peay, Wharff, etc. are trying to figure out how to spin the last couple days. This one wont just go away.
 
Priceless to say the least. I have to admit 7 years ago when I seen what they were doing and feared the future I never thought they would self destruct, or the kool aid drinkers would see the light. Maybe it took one to make the other.
Also good to see other take over the fight where I left off after I dropped out. I was and am still too damn tired of it to get my blood pressure up and post over it.
Lesson for all, look at any non-profit as a profit in disguise before you give them money. Check them out, and after they come up clean then go ahead.
 
What's more obscene than this guy's game violations is the fact he was appointed to a position this high and DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A COLLEGE EDUCATION.........in anything........much less wildlife management!
So an uneducated guy gets the top position and unilaterally made the decision to give away 30% of Alaska's governor's tags to SFW for the expo. Are you crappin me???

Well the Utah SFW supporters certainly are right about one thing. SFW knows how to get things done.
 
I am a member of FNAWS ( because I think they are one of the worthy ones) and I hope to hunt sheep someday.

But am curious why they have given money to BIg Game Forever, they seem to be close to SFW. I am very ignorant on this subject, so maybe it's legit.

Sorry for hijacking.

O yeah glad to see more scammers getting busted and thankful we have people like Big Fin helping to expose them.
 
FNAWS, now known as WSF, is a very worthy cause. We have donated a lot of time slots to them. They are doing some great work on the ground.

Rocky Mountain Bighorn Society in Colorado, is doing the same. Both are making a huge difference for sheep.

Wouldn't be surprised of Sportsman for the Wealthy and Big Game For Us try to take credit for the work those two sheep groups have done. They like to take credit for everything else, even when they try to destroy the good work be done.

I am at a loss as to where all the Kool-aid slurpers are over on the home turf. They always have some BS spin.
 
I was just reading Atchesons column in the winter issue and saw the money that went to BGF. Thats what made me curious.

Thanks again.
 
passinthru said:
I was just reading Atchesons column in the winter issue and saw the money that went to BGF. Thats what made me curious.

Thanks again.
Click to expand...

If WSF sent money to Big Game For Us, members should be asking for some explanation. This AK crook is just one example of the kind of political hacks they have for their leadership.

WSF is doing too much good work to get in the sack with these hooligans. If Atcheson is thinking BGF is a good group, someone needs to give them some better recon.

These are the same guys who pitched their camp with the wolf lovers, just to keep the money machine going. They are the guys who lobbied the NM legislature to drop self-guided NR tag allocations to 6%, but allowed outfitters to keep 10%. The same group that tried to divert millions of MT license dollars to their friends in the wool/sheep industry, an industry lobby group directly in conflict with the restoration of wild sheep.

This quote is never more true than when talking of the corruption employed by the tag thieves known as SFW/BGF -
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. ~Aesop
Click to expand...
 
Yup. This one stinks like last month's gut pile. Thanks Randy for shining a light on this crap. Just shows what happens when people in power disregard the fact that wildlife belongs to ALL of us.
 
passinthru said:
I was just reading Atchesons column in the winter issue and saw the money that went to BGF. Thats what made me curious.

Thanks again.
Click to expand...

Peay was a board member of WSF prior to his start of SFW. Peay had started the Utah chapter of WSF. I believe WSF helped Peay get SFW started with combined conventions.

The two organizations have had their differences to say the least with Peay weaseling into the Idaho lottery tag in typical Peay fashion. IDWSF won back the tag the following year but SWF is still trying to get it back.

Peay still has ties to some of the WSF board members from his time with the organization. I would guess he talked his way into the donation using his board friends to push it.

I'm not a Peay fan but he and Lee Howard did an incredible job in Utah for wild sheep. He deserves credit for the transplants and habitat saved in Utah.

On another note, there is legislation going forward in ID for governor tags. I haven't been able to find a tie to Peay but I bet he's involved in it.
 
Heres an interesting post about his I pulled from the Alaska outdoors forum...pretty well describes the goings on with Rossi and SFW:

"Vince, I have a question. How much does the State of Alaska get out of these tags? How much of it goes back into Fish and Game? Or does it all go into the general fund? Or does Alaska get anything for giving these tags away? And why does the State need a middle man? I don't agree with giving these tags to any group, no matter the initials. If the State were to raffle them off, they'd get 100%.

Now you say that it is neither the tag nor the process that is of complaint in this story. I beg to differ with you and I'll tie it together for you.

First we start with Rossi. He's friends with Chuck Heath. According to Sally Heath "Heath said she and her husband worked for Rossi for 14 years trapping nuisance animals when he was employed by the federal government."

That is from this story..... http://www.adn.com/2010/03/22/119435...ouster-of.html

Then, remember Bushrat's opinion piece? http://www.adn.com/2010/03/24/119797...-director.html

"Gov. Palin, he (Denby Lloyd) told me, wanted Rossi -- who at the time was a spokesman and board member of the new Alaska chapter of Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, a predator-control advocacy group headed by former state Sens. Ralph Seekins and Scott Ogan -- put in the vacant deputy commissioner slot. But Lloyd strongly refused."

Then this "And a brand-new "assistant commissioner" position would be created for Mr. Rossi."
Then this happened........ "A couple of days later Assistant Commissioner Rossi represented Fish and Game before the Board of Game in support of the very same controversial proposals Rossi had helped draft and promote as an SFW-AK board member (submitted under the name of the SFW sister organization, Sportsmen for Habitat) just prior to going to work for the department, to legalize the snaring of bears and helicopter transport of hunters who participate in the Unit 16 bear control efforts"

Then this happenned........ "not all managers and staff were pleased to see the department radically shift positions regarding bears, because SFW-AK began a campaign to have various Region II Fish and Game staff removed or replaced, complaining that certain staffers were hampering "abundance management" efforts and that Doug Larsen, Division of Wildlife Conservation director, was protecting them."

And then this...... " Fast forward to the 2010 spring Board of Game meeting in Fairbanks and the bombshell announcement by Deputy Commissioner Valkenburg that the department would be advocating to legalize the snaring of both black and grizzly bears in the Interior, outside of any formal bear control plans."

And finally this......... A week later, Doug Larsen was asked to step down from the director's position. Corey Rossi was announced as the new director of the Division of Wildlife Conservation, as of March 16, 2010.

"SFW-AK released a statement crowing about how they'd influenced Commissioner Lloyd to remove Larsen and put their man Rossi in, calling it a "bold move" that was "due in large part to the process and participation of SFW. ..."

But that isn't the end. Remember this? Last year Martintrapper posted this story right here on the forum about Rossi,and former Board of Game member Bob Bell, and current member Cliff Judkins, Chairman of the Board of Game, going on a little Muskox trip and trying to get around the trophy destruction rules. http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/...Moose-for-Free

So for starters, you have a couple guys with a lot of influence over how we all get to hunt out palling around with a guy who brings proposals to them to consider. They are supposed to consider them on their merrits, not on the fact that it was their buddy who took them on a little trip and tried to get around the trophy destruction regs for them that made the proposal. I realize Bell is off the board, but I'm sure he still has a lot of influence with the "right" people. So......one of these proposals might just happen to be.... Giving premium tags to SFW, the organization that Rossi headed in Alaska before his new "job" was created for him. Another one might happen to be.....Letting the winners of those tags ignore a basic hunting law for EVERYONE who hunts in Alaska, NO USING helicopters for transport is allowed for hunting in Alaska. You can't even use a helicopter to fly a camp in before the season. But if you're SFW, and your guy is planted in Alaska Dept of Fish and Game, and he's getting guys fired for not toeing the SFW party line, and he shmoozes a current and past Board of Game member, before he puts a proposal before them to benefit your organization by taking opportunity from Alaskan hunters, and he also proposes that the laws are changed regarding helicopter use JUST FOR the winner of those tags, so your organization can get more money for those same tags, then I have to tell you Vince, I have a huge problem with both the tags and the process.

If you can't understand that, I don't know how much more clear I can make it. There was quid pro quo going on here. And the real sad part is, many of us warned of this. And this organization is so @#)(# sure of themselves, they don't even try to hide what they are doing. This scenario has played out pretty much every place they do business."
 
Big Fin said:
If WSF sent money to Big Game For Us, members should be asking for some explanation. This AK crook is just one example of the kind of political hacks they have for their leadership.

WSF is doing too much good work to get in the sack with these hooligans. If Atcheson is thinking BGF is a good group, someone needs to give them some better recon.
Click to expand...

I agree with you. Here's what I think happened. At the 2011 convention, several wolf pelts were donated for auction, with the caveat that money raised would go to fight for wolf de-listing. I do not recall if the org that the money was to go to was specified. The pelts were auctioned, donated back and auctioned again several times. If I recall correctly, one pelt ended up raising $36,000 after being auctioned about 6 times. WSF then took their premium off the top, and apparently sent the money raised to BGF. Atcheson's column says that they sent $52,000 to BGF.

It wouldn't hurt to let WSF know that you don't agree with that. Of course, WSF is based in WY, where they still don't have a wolf hunt. :rolleyes:

Ben Lamb said:
Does anyone have a list of SFW's sponsors?

Found it: http://www.sfw.net/sponsors/
Click to expand...

It's funny that Arctic Red River is listed as a sponsor. They are now owned by SFW.
 
Hi all, I wanted to get some info across, I'm "bushrat" from the Alaska forum and I see there has been a cut and paste here from that forum.

Been following and writing about what SFW has been trying to do here in Alaska for a while. Took a lot of flak for some opinion pieces. I felt someone should get the truth out about how things have changed up here once SFW got involved in influencing politics of game mangement.

Some of you may know that Director Rossi's resignation and news of the 12 game violation charges against him came out the day before an important statewide Board of Game meeting up here. That board is like other states' wildlife commissions, the seven members are appointed by the governor and make all decisions on seasons and bag limits and methods and means and allocations. This meeting is ongoing and continues into next week.

One of the proposals before the Board is from ADF&G, actually it's from Rossi but doesn't have his name on it. It is proposal 44 and asks that the Director of the Division of Wildlife Conservation (Rossi as of two days ago) be given the authority to manage the governor's tags hunts (which as Director he has sole authority over in who gets those tags) in ways whereby the Director could allow those hunts to take place outside normal seaons and to allow methods and means (like helo transport) not allowed under normal hunting regs. The rationale given is that the tags would be worth much more money if this was allowed. Alaska law allows for the allocation of two governor's tags per species per year.

Rossi was set to represent the Dept. on this proposal. No telling what will happen now, if the interim Director will still support it or not or if it will pass, but I sure hope what with these charges on Rossi the Board chooses not to even take this up right now. It is a clear conflict of interest with his strong SFW ties.

Some may be aware of the bill in Arizona (HB 2072 - http://phoenix.fanster.com/2012/01/10/hb-2072-creates-a-stir-in-arizona/) SFW tried to get through secretly that is causing such a big stir right now. SFW was to benefit by getting exclusive rights to a new allocation of tags in AZ. They are trying to do there what they did in Utah, except that bill had no real requirements that the money for auctioned tags go back to the state for conservation work, no limits on what an org (SFW) could keep from sale of those tags.

This is pretty much the known SFW agenda wherever they go even though they claim it isn't, but in Alaska it was going to be hard for them to legislatively get a bill such as that or similar sponsored. All they could do was get "their man" Rossi in a leadership position at ADFG where he was in control of governor's tags. Which is a pretty big feat, gotta hand it to Don Peay <grin>.

So what they've been trying to do up here is to push policy via getting their own people in power for widescale privatized predator control efforts and new methods and means, like helo transport and snaring of black and brown bears. The charges against Rossi stem from the SFW "camps" they set up in one such bear control area. No money was supposed to change hands. SFW said they set up these bait station camps on their own dime, they would fly or boat hunters to these camps at the hunters' minimal expense. This was all supposedly to benefit Alaskans who wanted more moose on the table and a whole bunch of folks bought into it. But all along money has been changing hands, illegal (over limit) hunting was going on, and no way do I believe the 12 listed charges against Rossi (and he has already admitted his guilt according to the charging document) are an isolated incident.

If you think about how much money could be involved in pushing for more predator control of bears and privatizing it, especially grizzly bears which require a guide in Alaska...it's a pretty big deal. One of the weird things with the charges against Rossi is that there was no need for him to lie and falsify hunt records for his nonresident clients. Except for the one guy who took two bears when only allowed one. They all had nonres locking tags, so why then did Rossi make the "conscious decision" to seal those bears under his name and not have them sealed using the proper name and locking tag? (I should explain also that the first black bear control plan that got passed, and where SFW set up these bait station camps, allowed for residents like Rossi to take an unlimited number of black bears, So any resident could claim a whole lot of bears under his or her name.)

That alone right there I think pretty much confirms what was going on...they fly out hunters, many times prominent SFW supporters, they shoot some bears, they fly back and seal them falsely under another name, but the nonres hunters still have their required locking tag. Do you suppose the idea is to simply go home with that? You can't get a refund on them. So why the hell would they do this? The answer seems pretty clear. Again this isn't an isolated incident imo. Rossi and others were complicit as guides and as an org (these were SFW sponsored camps) in purposely helping hunters break our game laws...for money in their pockets.

I firmly believe this is the tip of the iceberg and I hope there is more investigation on this and dots are connected.

Cheers,
Mark
 
Last edited:
Just keeps getting better and better in Alaska:

Officials 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?


http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/new-details-emerge-alaska-wildlife-chiefs-resignation
 
Last edited:
I agree with Mark Richards. What we are seeing is just the tip of an iceberg.

The stuff Buzz just posted is amazing. I mean think about that. It would be the equivalent of the Director of the Department of Revenue using my CPA license number to prepare fraudulent tax returns.

If I was that outfitter, Rossi would have more legal problem in civil court than he would in criminal court. Buzz, you need to put that info over on their home field. Not that they will reply, as I think they are in such deep denial and "let the storm pass" mode, they will not say anything.

I suspect they are all looking for a rock to crawl under. Hopefully they will stay there. Think I might dig up some of those old wolf threads from last year, find the SFW hack jobs they sent to defend the honor of SFW and see how the Kool-aid tastes now.
 
I really can't speak for any of this. But I have read MM enough over the years to be laughing my ass off at the deafening silence over there on this issue. I just hope all the folks in MT who have been all gaga over the sfw/bgf are smart enough to run from these jackholes.
 
They just sent in their first troop as fodder. You have to go to the link and read post #33.

I am laughing so hard, my wife wants to know if I need oxygen. OMG, that is funnier than anything I have read in weeks.

Here is the link again.



Please, brighten your day and go read it. You will be glad you did. Post #33.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

mtnprst
  • Locked
Top Western Hunting Self-Promoters, Rank 11-25
2 3
Replies
48
Views
8K
Falcon75
F
Big Fin
Utah wolf lobby payments
Replies
17
Views
6K
schmalts
S
I
Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife letters
Replies
0
Views
1K
Ithaca 37
I
I
White House Puts the West on Fast Track for Oil, Gas Drilling
2
Replies
28
Views
4K
Stocker
Stocker
Ollin Magnetic Digiscoping Systems

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
111,540
Messages
1,962,460
Members
35,226
Latest member
Adscarpernter

Share this page

Back
Top