Utah expo and RMEF???

[jryoung]

-hundreds of thousands out of taxpayers pockets for sage grouse and wolf "lobbying" with no accounts for where that money went.

You're ridiculously wrong here and I'm going to call you on it. It's BGF the incestual sister organization of SFW and they have received $4.8M in state money for sage grouse ($4M) and wolves($800k).

Don't use understated data to weaken your argument.

First $2M
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/57971676-90/utah-grouse-sage-wolf.html.csp

Second $2M
http://www.sltrib.com/home/2279953-155/utah-lawmakers-set-to-give-sage

$800K for wolves
http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=28523603&itype=storyID

 

[Oneye]

Sister organization whatever, Don Peay and Ryan Benson are cofounders, Don Peay is the founder of SFW. I'm sorry I didn't realize they were so far apart and seperate. Seems to me the same behind the scenes handshakes were taking place. You can call it a different name but it's still the same crooks behind the closed doors. Call me ridiculously wrong it doesn't make you right or Give the cronies different names. A fish is a fish no matter what the pond is called that it lives in.

 

[UTK14]

Sister organization whatever, Don Peay and Ryan Benson are cofounders, Don Peay is the founder of SFW. I'm sorry I didn't realize they were so far apart and seperate. Seems to me the same behind the scenes handshakes were taking place. You can call it a different name but it's still the same crooks behind the closed doors.

I think he was more referencing the fact that you stated hundreds of thousands of dollars had been stolen/wasted from/by the state, when in fact it's $4.8M.

 

[jryoung]

Sister organization whatever, Don Peay and Ryan Benson are cofounders, Don Peay is the founder of SFW. I'm sorry I didn't realize they were so far apart and seperate. Seems to me the same behind the scenes handshakes were taking place. You can call it a different name but it's still the same crooks behind the closed doors. Call me ridiculously wrong it doesn't make you right or Give the cronies different names. A fish is a fish no matter what the pond is called that it lives in.

OFFS did you seriously miss all my sarcasm? I even put the little winky emoticon as if it wasn't apparent enough.

 

[Oneye]

Fair enough carry on, and I didn't know it was quite that out of hand.

 

[Zim]

Here's the contact information of the following Utah news sources:

KSL News: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=205

KUTV: [email protected]

ABC4: http://www.good4utah.com/contact/news

Salt lake tribune: [email protected]

Deseret news: [email protected]

Fox 13: [email protected]

This is the only way to someday put an end to these white collar criminals.

 

[OriginalOscar]

Fellow Utah Hunt-Talkers time for us to get very engaged.

I would like to suggest a sit down this Sunday afternoon at 2pm. PM me if you are willing to get together. My house in Riverton or we could meet at a local establishment.

PM me and I will coordinate. Sorry the timing is bad with muzzy hunt opening this week.

Troy Rushton

 

[Outdoor Junkie]

Just following up to see what ever came of this? Sure seemed like the RMEF could really be a great partner for the Utah expo.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

Just following up to see what ever came of this? Sure seemed like the RMEF could really be a great partner for the Utah expo.

The new format (RFP) that wasn't in effect when the original bids were turned was used and a committee has picked who they feel the contract should go to. There will be a meeting this Friday of the Wildlife Board and at that time they will vote on the organization that the committee picked. The big kicker is that there are 4 Board Members that are former officials in SFW and the President, John Bair, is the Board Chairman. Statutes require that those 4 individuals recuse themselves from voting if SFW is the organization picked by the committee. The meeting will be live streamed and it will be very interesting to see what shenanigans, if any, are pulled by the Board.

EDIT: Here is the link to the live stream of the Friday meeting that will start at 9AM Mountain time:

https://youtu.be/iSE0MM9dRSo

 

[Big Fin]

The new format (RFP) that wasn't in effect when the original bids were turned was used and a committee has picked who they feel the contract should go to. There will be a meeting this Friday of the Wildlife Board and at that time they will vote on the organization that the committee picked. The big kicker is that there are 4 Board Members that are former officials in SFW and the President, John Bair, is the Board Chairman. Statutes require that those 4 individuals recuse themselves from voting if SFW is the organization picked by the committee. The meeting will be live streamed and it will be very interesting to see what shenanigans, if any, are pulled by the Board.

As Top mentioned, there are SFW Board members who sit on the UT Wildlife Board that will vote on this proposal on Friday. The application in the past was submitted by the Mule Deer Foundatio, who partnered with SFW to conduct the Expo. To my knowledge, there are no MDF Board members on the Wildlife Board.

It is very possible that MDF will submit the proposal, not SFW. That could allow the SFW Board members to in some way be considered unconflicted in their vote. The new RFP that arose after RMEF submitted their original bid, does ask for partners in the Expo application. I am not sure if MDF choosing SFW or it's parasitic sister group, Big Game Forever, as their Expo partners will be considered a conflict of interest.

I have seen the proposal that has been submitted by RMEF under this new RFP. The ante has been raised even further. It will surely be interesting to see how the other bids compare to what RMEF has offered. Odds are that we will not know what the other bids offered, due to the UT folks saying this will all remain confidential.

I seriously doubt the other groups will offer the financial incentives RMEF has offered or that they will subject their Expo financial activities to the same level of outside examination that RMEF has offered. But, given how the RFP is worded, a lot of rather curious criteria are given a lot of consideration; criteria that will likely result in a lower score without being involved in past Expos.

Either way, if more money ends up on the ground for Utah wildlife, habitat, and conservation, the RMEF;s involvement will have been beneficial. And if it raises the Expo and the process in Utah to a higher level of accountability and transparency, the folks of Utah will benefit.

 

[OriginalOscar]

Republican Speak Regarding Big Game Tags

I would encourage all Utah sportsmen to contact your state legislative representatives prior to Friday. Use language they understand related to state property (big game tags) and how this resource is used for the benefit of Utahns. Below is my email to my representatives.

Utah State Property - Big Game Tags - On Friday the Division of Wildlife Resources plans to make a decision to award a 5 year contract to a party to annually manage 200 big game tags. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has committed to give 100% o the moneys generated by these tags to the people of Utah. In the past the Mule Deer Foundation had this contract as a proxy for Sportsmen for Fish & Wildlife (SFW) and only about 30% of the revenue was turned to the state. The balance went into a SFW black file without public oversight. The board making the decision has several SFW members. The right decision for the people of Utah is the organization who will create the most revenue for the state by managing state property; these big game tags. Consistent with the mandate for Utah Trustlands. I would ask you to convey this responsibility to the Division of Wildlife leadership.

 

[Oneye]

As Top mentioned, there are SFW Board members who sit on the UT Wildlife Board that will vote on this proposal on Friday. The application in the past was submitted by the Mule Deer Foundatio, who partnered with SFW to conduct the Expo. To my knowledge, there are no MDF Board members on the Wildlife Board.

It is very possible that MDF will submit the proposal, not SFW. That could allow the SFW Board members to in some way be considered unconflicted in their vote. The new RFP that arose after RMEF submitted their original bid, does ask for partners in the Expo application. I am not sure if MDF choosing SFW or it's parasitic sister group, Big Game Forever, as their Expo partners will be considered a conflict of interest.

I have seen the proposal that has been submitted by RMEF under this new RFP. The ante has been raised even further. It will surely be interesting to see how the other bids compare to what RMEF has offered. Odds are that we will not know what the other bids offered, due to the UT folks saying this will all remain confidential.

I seriously doubt the other groups will offer the financial incentives RMEF has offered or that they will subject their Expo financial activities to the same level of outside examination that RMEF has offered. But, given how the RFP is worded, a lot of rather curious criteria are given a lot of consideration; criteria that will likely result in a lower score without being involved in past Expos.

Either way, if more money ends up on the ground for Utah wildlife, habitat, and conservation, the RMEF;s involvement will have been beneficial. And if it raises the Expo and the process in Utah to a higher level of accountability and transparency, the folks of Utah will benefit.

You're being too nice Randy. If RMEF does not get this bid it will prove even further without doubt the corruption that is involved within our DWR and legislature. If SFW is pulled out of the hat, I will never attend the expo again, on the other hand if RMEF gets it I will probably end up spending much more because of where the funds will go. RMEF has really earned my respect on this one and I will be a life member soon. I just hope that with all the emails to the wildlife board and others there is enough public pressure to actually make the right decision here. We will find out Friday and I hope a lot of you follow that live link and watch.

 

[Sawtooth]

Has the media been informed of this meeting and the possible conflict of interest with the board members?