Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 13, 1993 TAG: 9306140031
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: E8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Whitehurst is chief of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries fish division, but he has been directed to cast to an even bigger pond. He has been appointed the agency's funding coordinator, with the job of bringing the department into the next century with sound programs, policies and financing.
It won't be an easy task. The agency was founded in the early 1900s to serve a sport hunting and fishing constituency. Its bills have been paid by the people who buy hunting and fishing licenses.
But in recent years, the department has been given growing responsibilities for species that aren't hunted or fished, which make up 90 percent of the state's wildlife. It also has had to embrace a shift in public attitudes, which increasingly place interest in non-consumptive wildlife use, such as wildlife watching as opposed to hunting.
"What we are talking about is being a total wildlife agency," Whitehurst said.
That could mean the agency's old name is outdated, and the new one will be the Department of Wildlife Resources, he said. It could mean game wardens will be called conservation officers. It could mean that wildlife work will center on diversity and ecosystems, rather than just huntable species such as deer, bear and turkey.
What is certain is it will mean new sources of funding. If Vision 2003 is to succeed, the people who enjoy wildlife but don't buy a hunting or fishing license will have to help pay some of the costs.
Right now, the department isn't just burdened by expanding responsibilities, it also is beset by declining revenues. Hunting license sales are declining. Fishing license sales are seeing slow growth. The boating program isn't bringing in enough money to cover its costs.
There are 74 vacant positions in the department. Much of its capital outlay budget will be eaten up by a single dam-repair project this year. Fish hatcheries are crumbling. Many research project have been shelved.
"We are in trouble," Whitehurst said.
The General Assembly has failed to deal with the crisis. It has been slow to increase fees that hunters and fishermen pay and reluctant to finance wildlife efforts out of the general fund.
As a result, Virginia spends $4.02 per resident for wildlife programs, while Missouri spends $16.97. Virginia is behind West Virginia, Mississippi, South Carolina and Arkansas in per-resident spending. The fact that it is next to last in the Southeast likely will be a campaign issue this fall among those who covet a seat in the General Assembly.
"Virginia is the fifth fastest-growing state in the country and its wildlife habitat is being chewed up in big chunks," Whitehurst said.
That's a pretty disconcerting thought when you consider that wildlife has a $1.5 billion annual economic impact on the state, a figure that rivals agriculture, he said.
Whitehurst spent considerable time last week assuring hunters and fishermen that their programs won't be de-emphasized by the broad-based approach of Vision 2003. Hunting and fishing are popular and economically important recreational pursuits, and they should remain so, he said.
The idea is to give the traditional sportsman, who has carried the financial load through the years, some welcome assistance.
by CNB