I was disappointed and alarmed that Dave was demoted by the department in a purely political move. Dave and his staff came under heat when the Magic Valley office opposed Cove Springs in Blaine County because of its negative wildlife impacts. In fact, Dave's job was threatened then when the Cove developers complained to the governor and his Fish and Game supervisors. This summer, Dave spoke out about the wildlife impacts of a large proposed wind farm and that brought the hatchet down, despite his having worked on hundreds of projects which were successfully negotiated.

I have worked closely with Dave Parrish, former Magic Valley Regional supervisor of the Idaho Fish and Game during my 7½-year tenure as Blaine County commissioner, and there is no one more professional in the field. Dave and his staff always worked hard with the county to achieve a balance between local development and wildlife protection. Dave and the Magic Valley Fish and Game staff were diligent in their efforts to solve problems collaboratively with stakeholders. We could always count on sound science and civil discourse even when there was disagreement. Dave Parrish led the Magic Valley Region well and he will be missed.

I was disappointed and alarmed that Dave was demoted by the department in a purely political move. Dave and his staff came under heat when the Magic Valley office opposed Cove Springs in Blaine County because of its negative wildlife impacts. In fact, Dave's job was threatened then when the Cove developers complained to the governor and his Fish and Game supervisors.

This summer, Dave spoke out about the wildlife impacts of a large proposed wind farm and that brought the hatchet down, despite his having worked on hundreds of projects which were successfully negotiated. Dave Parrish's demotion now proves that developers, ranchers and even elected officials such as state House Assistant Majority Leader Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, and Sen. Bert Brackett, R-Rogerson, have the upper hand in Idaho on wildlife decisions, not science.

This decision sends a strong message to the Fish and Game staff to keep their mouth shut even if wildlife and fish species are threatened. This is tragic. I hope that Gov. Otter, the Fish and Game Commission, and department and elected officials will remember the tremendous economic gains from having an abundant, diverse fish and wildlife population and change their focus from the gains of a few developers.

(Sarah Michael, a Democrat, served as a Blaine County commissioner from 2001 until July 2008.)

Web link: http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2008/08/20/opi...