Outdoorsmen oppose Conservation Department oversight bills

Legislation is moving through both chambers of Missouri's legislature that could change how the Missouri Department of Conservation does business, prompting concern from sportsmen and conservation groups.

Senate Joint Resolution 42 and House Joint Resolution 57 seek to require any rules and regulations passed by a state agency to be approved by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, which consists of five senators and five representatives.

If the bills pass, they would go to statewide voters as a constitutional amendment.

The idea behind the legislation, said District 154 Rep. Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, who serves as Joint Committee vice chairman, is to ensure oversight of state agencies.

"The idea is for checks and balances," Richardson said.

Department of Conservation director Bob Ziehmer, however, said his department is unique and such oversight isn't needed.

"We serve 6 million people with a citizen-driven conservation system," Ziehmer said. "Missouri's citizens have created a national model, and it works."

The Department of Conservation is different from other state agencies in that it is controlled through a four-member citizen commission appointed by the governor. It's a system approved by voters in 1936 as a constitutional amendment.

"Our system works," Ziehmer said. "From our perspective, the system with four commissioners is proven, and it has checks and balances."

When the department makes regulation changes through its conservation commission, they are forwarded to the secretary of state's office for a standard comment period before becoming law. Under the two proposed bills, those regulation changes first would need to be approved by the joint committee.

"This rule is not being driven by concerns about the Department of Conservation," Richardson said.

The department has been under pressure from unhappy hunters after a poor deer season and from deer breeders who feel it is trying to over-regulate and put them out of business.

Still, many think changing procedures would undermine the department, as evidenced by the number of telephone calls Ziehmer said his office has fielded.

The biggest fear people have, Ziehmer said, is conservation decisions would be taken out of the hands of biologists and specialists and given to a small group of politicians.

"Right now, people are hearing Missouri's conservation system would change," Ziehmer said.

That won't happen, according to Richardson.

"The way the bill was drafted subjects MDC to the same processes as other agencies, but the bill was never written with the intention to harm MDC," Richardson said. "We still want scientists and biologists making the decisions."

The Joint Committee, Richardson said, simply would make sure any rules and regulations fell within legal parameters.

"We can't just say 'We don't like your rule' and get rid of it," he emphasized. "The JCAR is very limited."

State Sen. Doug Libla agreed.

"Nobody is telling anybody they can't make rules," he said.

Private conservation groups spoke out against oversight of the department as well.

"Ducks Unlimited does not support either SJR42 or HJR57," said Bill Cox, its Missouri state chairman, in an email to volunteers. The bills would "negatively affect the ability of the Missouri Department of Conservation to effectively manage the forest, fish and wildlife resources of the state."

Additionally, Cox said, the bills would "propose an amendment that would inject politics into Missouri's system of conservation ... allowing special interest groups or politicians to dictate management and regulations."

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Regional director Mark Nash said his organization "supports the way the Conservation Department has done things for years. Their system isn't broken, and I don't see any reason to change it. It's the best thing going."

John Burke, a regional biologist for the National Wild Turkey Federation, agreed.

"We're opposed to both of these bills," Burke said. "The way the system has managed successfully for 77 years ... it's the best in the land."

Burke said his organization, as well as Ducks Unlimited and Quail Unlimited, are drafting a joint letter to politicians concerning the bills.

Richardson emphasized those bills are in the early stages.

"We're very, very early in the process," he said.

Richardson said he's heard the opposition.

"There's been a good argument that we need to change the wording to preserve the Department of Conservation's constitutional authority," he said. "We don't want to take conservation backward in Missouri, and there's certainly going to be some language which would treat conservation differently than we treat other agencies. My strong speculation is a lot of this will be clearer in a week."

The bills are available for public viewing online. HJR57 can be found at house.mo.gov, while SJR42 can be found at senate.mo.gov. Both bills will be updated as they proceed forward.