Director Defends DFG Record of Management at Commission Hearing

Director Pete Bontadelli’s Dept. of Fish and Game sailed through a six-hour hearing before the Little Hoover Commission Tuesday, but the Fish and Game Commission seemed to be in trouble.

The Little Hoover Commission, which is investigating how well California’s natural resources are managed, was far more impressed by Bontadelli than it was with FGC President Bob Bryant, whose group oversees the DFG.

This was the second of two hearings; the first was last May in Los Angeles. Representatives of developers, conservationists and sports enthusiasts testified.

After the testimony, at least one Hoover commissioner questioned whether the Fish and Game Commission was needed.

“I’m not sure,” said commissioner Albert Gersten of Los Angeles, after a tough grilling of Bryant. “That commission is totally subservient to this department.

“You say to yourself, if I can save $429,000 (the commission’s annual budget) by not having a commission, maybe I’m better off having more manpower in this department.”

However, when the Hoover commission releases its conclusions and recommendations to the California legislature in the next three to six months, it probably will suggest restructuring, not abolishing, the commission, which commissioners characterized as little more than a “rubber stamp” for the DFG.

“I wouldn’t mind if they worked harder,” Gersten said. “Clearly, this (Bryant) is a fine man that came up. But the equation I get from the commission is that they’re as close to a rubber stamp as they can get.”

When there is a conflict in policy, Gersten added, “They say, ‘We’ll work it out.’ Sure, the commission will cave in every time.”

The Fish and Game Commission is a group of five citizens appointed by the governor to alternating six-year terms for the purpose of setting policy, which the department administers. The Hoover panel seemed to be left with the impression that the FGC does little more than issue hunting and fishing regulations.

Bryant, 60, a farmer from Yuba City, Calif., argued that his commission was effective, but he was not as convincing in defending his group as Bontadelli was in defending the DFG.

Bontadelli, 41, is a glib administrator who has been a legislative aide or DFG deputy for 17 years.

During his testimony, Bryant, sat next to Harold Cribbs, the FGC’s executive secretary, who often prompted Bryant’s replies by whispering in his ear--or simply answered for him.

Once, Gersten said to Cribbs, “Would you like to answer? I see you whispering. I wouldn’t mind Mr. Bryant answering these questions. He’s the witness.”

Doris Allen (R-Cypress), a state assemblywoman who has been an adversary of the DFG for five years, said later, “Mr. Bryant looked intimidated to me. He really didn’t respond well. It’s too bad, because he does know (the subject).”

Bryant testified: “(In) almost every decision made by the commission, some member has gone out (in the field) to see what’s going on. We don’t take the word of the department all the time. We keep asking questions until we get good answers.”

Cribbs: “The commission is not a rubber stamp for the department.”

Gersten said: “I find it distressing to have the president of the commission come up here and defer everything to the executive secretary.”

Bryant: “Well, Mr. Cribbs deals with it every day.”

Gersten: “Maybe you should.”

Richard Spotts of the Defenders of Wildlife, said that by proposing a mountain lion hunt two years ago, the commission demonstrated “it was out of step with the feeling of most Californians.”

Dr. Peter Moyle, a professor of fisheries at UC Davis, said of the FGC: “As a policy-making body, it’s way behind the times.”

However, they and other witnesses--Mickey Bernstein of the California Wildlife Federation, Jim Crenshaw, representing the United Anglers of California, and W.F. Grader of the Pacific Coast Federation of (commercial) Fishermen’s Associations, Inc.--agreed that the department was doing a satisfactory job, considering its limited funds and personnel and political constraints.

Bontadelli testified for two hours.

“Our employees, if they err,” he said, “tend to err on the side of protecting the environment. . . . hunting and fishing license sales are decreasing at a time when our problems are increasing.”

At one point, Bontadelli said: “We function as a staff to the commission.”

Gersten responded: “We keep going round and round about who’s in charge.”

Bontadelli also fended off a conflict-of-interest charge by the Waterfowlers Against Baiting organization that DFG officials had been guests at one of the controversial hunting clubs.

Hoover Commissioner Barbara Stone told Bontadelli: “At the end of the day, I’m so sympathetic toward the department that I can’t understand why anyone would be so stupid as to become director.”

Everyone laughed. Bontadelli smiled.

Bontadelli said afterward: “We do the best we can with what we’ve got, and I personally believe the commission also tries to do its best.”

Gersten: “I do think that Mr. Bontadelli is doing his best. I’m not sure I would say the same thing about the commission.”