spectr17
01-16-2003, 07:24 PM
Previous wrong righted with DOW realignment
By Charlie Meyers, Denver Post Outdoor Editor
January 07, 2003
Think of it as the end of an error. Almost.
When the Colorado Division of Wildlife announced last week that it was reversing more than six years of bad judgment by reinstating its Southwest Region office, there was cause for celebration.
After all, logic had won out over muddle-headedness, and how often does that happen?
Anyone who can look at a map of the state right side up can see it made no sense to carve the wildlife agency's managerial geography into just three segments - one each for the northeast and southeast and the other for that entire, gaping expanse west of the Continental Divide where most of the hunting and fishing takes place.
The re-creation of a southwest entity out of an office in Durango, under the direction of DOW veteran Tom Spezze, lends a geographic balance to wildlife management, while recognizing the unique needs of a region that features very different terrain and, in many cases, clientele than any other part of the state.
It made no sense to attempt to administrate more than 50,000 square miles of territory - an area larger than half the 50 states - from a single office in Grand Junction. The southwest deserved, and needed, its own headquarters and identity.
That said, it's now time to look toward righting the other major error created during that unfortunate 1996 realignment, a move that may reflect the darkest days of an agency that too often has been buffeted and bullied by political circumstances.
Having corrected the southwest mistake, DOW now should plan toward re-establishing the Central Region, the other casualty of that ill-fated realignment.
As constituted for a happy and generally efficient 12 years, the Central unit encompassed the Denver metroplex and its linked counties, extending west to the Divide. It is a zone where two of three Coloradans live, a place with distinct outdoor needs and management requisites.
Before a band of meddlesome numbskulls upset the balance, a Central Region office tended to the outdoor wishes of people whose requirements are very different from those elsewhere in the state. Then, the overall Northeast territory was directed from an office in Fort Collins, an arrangement that made perfect sense. Central affairs were handled from Denver.
Whether this arrangement can be restored is a matter of economics as well as resolve. Russ George, who has served as DOW director the past two years and inherited this geographic muddle, can take considerable comfort and credit for at least partially setting things straight.
"We clearly can see the need for four rather than three regions. That's fairly obvious," George said of the recent change.
George remains much less certain whether his agency has the wherewithal to take the next step toward reviving the Central Region.
"It requires a finer cutting of our resources to go farther," he said. "It'll take awhile to bring the Southwest staff up to full numbers. It's not realistic to talk beyond that. Purely from a personnel standpoint, we're stuck."
George said he has done none of the thinking toward taking another reorganizational step.
"To be honest, I've not looked at it with the same detail as the Southwest. It hasn't been a part of my thinking or discussion. My style is a careful piece at a time."
Meanwhile, the southwest part of the state will be far better served by an arrangement that divides this sprawling western territory. The new region encompasses the San Luis Valley, as defined by the Rio Grande River drainage. It generally includes those lands drained by the Gunnison and San Juan rivers, along with the Four Corners district.
By Charlie Meyers, Denver Post Outdoor Editor
January 07, 2003
Think of it as the end of an error. Almost.
When the Colorado Division of Wildlife announced last week that it was reversing more than six years of bad judgment by reinstating its Southwest Region office, there was cause for celebration.
After all, logic had won out over muddle-headedness, and how often does that happen?
Anyone who can look at a map of the state right side up can see it made no sense to carve the wildlife agency's managerial geography into just three segments - one each for the northeast and southeast and the other for that entire, gaping expanse west of the Continental Divide where most of the hunting and fishing takes place.
The re-creation of a southwest entity out of an office in Durango, under the direction of DOW veteran Tom Spezze, lends a geographic balance to wildlife management, while recognizing the unique needs of a region that features very different terrain and, in many cases, clientele than any other part of the state.
It made no sense to attempt to administrate more than 50,000 square miles of territory - an area larger than half the 50 states - from a single office in Grand Junction. The southwest deserved, and needed, its own headquarters and identity.
That said, it's now time to look toward righting the other major error created during that unfortunate 1996 realignment, a move that may reflect the darkest days of an agency that too often has been buffeted and bullied by political circumstances.
Having corrected the southwest mistake, DOW now should plan toward re-establishing the Central Region, the other casualty of that ill-fated realignment.
As constituted for a happy and generally efficient 12 years, the Central unit encompassed the Denver metroplex and its linked counties, extending west to the Divide. It is a zone where two of three Coloradans live, a place with distinct outdoor needs and management requisites.
Before a band of meddlesome numbskulls upset the balance, a Central Region office tended to the outdoor wishes of people whose requirements are very different from those elsewhere in the state. Then, the overall Northeast territory was directed from an office in Fort Collins, an arrangement that made perfect sense. Central affairs were handled from Denver.
Whether this arrangement can be restored is a matter of economics as well as resolve. Russ George, who has served as DOW director the past two years and inherited this geographic muddle, can take considerable comfort and credit for at least partially setting things straight.
"We clearly can see the need for four rather than three regions. That's fairly obvious," George said of the recent change.
George remains much less certain whether his agency has the wherewithal to take the next step toward reviving the Central Region.
"It requires a finer cutting of our resources to go farther," he said. "It'll take awhile to bring the Southwest staff up to full numbers. It's not realistic to talk beyond that. Purely from a personnel standpoint, we're stuck."
George said he has done none of the thinking toward taking another reorganizational step.
"To be honest, I've not looked at it with the same detail as the Southwest. It hasn't been a part of my thinking or discussion. My style is a careful piece at a time."
Meanwhile, the southwest part of the state will be far better served by an arrangement that divides this sprawling western territory. The new region encompasses the San Luis Valley, as defined by the Rio Grande River drainage. It generally includes those lands drained by the Gunnison and San Juan rivers, along with the Four Corners district.