Once again, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is being ordered by Governor John Baldacci to cut its budget by 10 percent.

The cuts are immediate, for the remainder of the Fiscal Year ending this July, and long term for the next two-year budget cycle beginning this coming July.

This is not a unique exercise. It happens every time there is a recession, and each time the sitting governor, whomever he is, tends to forget his election promises to sportsmen. The problem is that MDIF&W gets most of its money from sportsmen who buy licenses to hunt and fish. So when the governor orders the Fish and Wildlife commissioner to help out the state’s imploding general fund by coughing up 10 percent in cuts, the governor is, in effect, dipping into dedicated revenues, which are derived from license money contributed by sportsmen. Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Danny Martin, to his credit, advised the governor’s bean counters that the 10 percent taken from his department should have been, by all rights, about a quarter of a million dollars, not nearly the $3 million asked for by the governor.

Why are we not surprised that Martin’s plea fell on deaf ears at the Blaine House? The governor’s spokesman, David Farmer, responded with a verbal shrug. This same scenario played out during Gov. John McKernan’s term. The commissioner at the time, Bill Vail, quit his post rather than preside over the gubernatorial raiding of sportsmen’s dedicated revenues. Don’t look for this commissioner to fall on his sword, although there is a constitutional issue here worthy of a fight. For all of his purported administrative acumen, Martin has not shown himself to be a courageous, visible advocate for sportsmen. He could make up for a lot of lost ground by drawing a line in the sand in behalf of sportsmen on this one.

Nobody likes budget cutting. It is a thankless, and, at times, a seemingly cruel exercise that is subject to a lot of second guessing and back biting as those with a vested interest try to protect their jobs or their favorite agency. The challenge for the decision-makers is to try to rise above politics and expediency and earmark cuts that produce the least impact on the agency’s overall mission.

IF&W’s list of proposed cuts run the gamut from the predictable to the perplexing. Personnel cuts that include wardens and biologists are pretty much expected (since people costs always make up the biggest part of any budget). Without question, the plan to eliminate the Grand Lake Stream salmon hatchery defies imagination though, and prompts the question: “What are they thinking?” Is this an attention-getting ploy, like when the school superintendent threatens to eliminate the football team if you cut his budget? Or is it possible that the governor and his commissioner just don’t have a clue when it comes to the fabled Grand Lake Stream and its history and legacy in the annals of the Maine outdoors? It’s hard to plumb the truth because the commissioner refuses to discuss the budget cuts, and has imposed a zip-lip policy on his staff. Northwoods Sporting Journal columnist Jack Gagnon nailed it when he wrote, “Someone should take the governor for a ride on Big Lake in a Grand Laker canoe and explain Maine History 101.Then explain the basics of rural Maine: Tourism, hunting and landlocked salmon fishing.”

Equally perplexing is the proposal to cut the position of the Deputy Commissioner’s post. That may be popular with Joe Sixpack. But having worked on the commissioner’s staff, I can tell you first hand that, unlike American vice presidents, deputy commissioners work hard and do the heavy lifting. There are many other positions that are more expendable than the deputy commissioner’s slot. And the loss of the sitting deputy commissioner, Paul Jacques, makes no sense. He is hard working, capable, imbued with a valuable institutional memory when it comes to fish and wildlife issues, and – best of all – he isn’t afraid to stand up and be counted when it comes to defending sportsmen and their issues.

Of course, it’s not over until it’s over. All of these budget-cutting proposals must be subjected to the legislative gantlet. Meantime, sportsmen would do well to pay attention. This budget crunch for MDIF&W is significant and there is a lot at stake.

V. Paul Reynolds is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network (WVOM-FM 103.9, WCME-FM 96.7) and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is [email protected].