CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Sportsman’s organizations in West Virginia indicated they don’t need to be told when to react. A group of state lawmakers, in a recent letter to Governor Tomblin, claimed Division of Natural Resources Director Frank Jezioro called various sportsman’s organizations to lobby them in opposition to several pieces of legislation. The most high profile bill was House Bill 4286, the deer farm legislation.
Jezioro said it never happened. Leaders of the organizations agreed they had no contact with Jezioro during the session.
“Just because maybe some of our thoughts and what we support are parallel, certainly by no means do we answer to Director Jezioro,” said West Virginia Wildlife Federation President Jerod Harman. “The West Virginia Wildlife Federation is made up of an enormous amount of members and over 60 affiliate organizations. We listen to our affiliates and the vast majority of the affiliates determine what is best for the sportsmen of West Virginia.”
Harman isn’t alone, Cully McCurdy Regional Biologist for the National Wild Turkey Federation also opposed the the bill and bristled at the notion he was acting on behalf of the DNR Director.
“Not only did he (Jezioro) not encourage me to contact him or make comments on his behalf, he came right out and said it was up to the sportsmen to fight it this year if they felt it was necessary,” McCurdy said of the one time he spoke with Jezioro before the session. “He said he wasn’t going to put the time into it with his staff and resources to fight it this year.”
The correspondence to the governor from 13 Senators and 26 Delegates called for Jezioro’s firing on the grounds he had interfered with the bill and overreached his authority as the DNR Director on a number of matters.
“Hunters are capable of forming their own opinion,” said McCurdy. “We don’t have to act like puppets on a string, we can do our own research and form our own opinion.”
McCurdy did get a chance to speak to lawmakers during a January 29th committee meeting where the captive cervid legislation was first introduced. He said it didn’t go well.
“I was berated by a particular delegate and treated in a condescending manner and was not afforded the opportunity to speak on behalf of sportsmen,” McCurdy explained.
Harman said he too was shocked during the meeting.
“Before any of the six to seven of us who were there opposing 4286 got to speak, the vote had already happened. It was quite an enlightening experience,” Harman said. “The puppets and the strings that are getting pulled aren’t the sportsmen in this arena.”
“After the meeting I was accosted by Commissioner of Agriculture Walt Helmick and he said to me, ‘Did Jezioro bring you down here? Did Jezioro put you up to this?” McCurdy said. “I wasn’t afforded an opportunity to answer his question, he would speak over me as soon as I would go to make a reply.”
Helmick was unavailable to answer questions about the incident when contacted by MetroNews. However, his Chief of Staff Chris Ferro couldn’t confirm or deny the interaction.
“I was not a part of that conversation, but I think it would be fair to say there are some frustrations between the Commissioner and the head of DNR,” Ferro said. “As for what was actually spoken is between those two men as far as I’m concerned.”
McCurdy and Harman may have also been unwittingly caught up in the House Rules. Those are widely known to be very narrow in what is allowed during committee discussion, unlike a public hearing when members raised questions during a debate those who are called upon to speak are generally sought for very narrow and specific answers to pending questions.
“As you sit in there and you watch the Agriculture Commissioner making nods throughout the room and you see the traffic getting directed and the motions moving right on through the committee,” said Harman. “The sportsmen were never afforded an opportunity to talk and answer questions, it kind of lets you know where you stand.”
“You never quite know how it’s going to proceed,” said Ferro. “But for an insinuation he (Helmick) was directing traffic or giving third baseman signals is not in my recollection of the event.”
The legislation would have transferred the regulatory authority of captive cervid facilities in West Virginia from the DNR to the Department of Agriculture. But it turned out neither the opposition of sportsmen nor the support of the lobby for the deer farmers or the department of agriculture played much of a role in the eventual outcome. The bill, which appeared headed toward passage, died on the last night of the session when differences between the House and Senate version could not be worked out.