So much for public process. And honesty. Ricky Gease, director of Alaska’s state parks, doesn’t seem to value either.
Speaking to Chugach State Park’s Citizens’ Advisory Board on Sept. 9, Gease assured its members that he would wait until after the board’s Oct. 14 meeting before making any decision about a proposed black bear hunt in the park’s McHugh Creek drainage. He also implied that the board’s stance on the hunt would inform his own decision.
It turns out he was lying. I learned this week that, without telling anyone on park staff or the advisory board, Gease went ahead and approved the controversial hunt — a hunt that the park’s superintendent, Kurt Hensel, opposes, and one that the CAB refused to consider without further discussion and public input.
As board chair Rosa Meehan succinctly told Gease at that September meeting, “We’re being hit with something cold; I don’t want to be pushed into a hasty decision.” Among those who were present, I listened to Gease clearly signal his willingness to wait until after the board’s October meeting, even if that meant delaying the hunt a full year — assuming it happened at all.
A week or so later, despite all his assurances otherwise and without consulting anyone connected to the park, Gease approved the hunt, a clear betrayal. His actions also raise questions of trustworthiness when other controversial issues arise and must be addressed, as they inevitably will. Can advisory boards — and the public — take Gease at his word when he’s shown his willingness to be deceptive even in a very public forum?
Already, there’s been some talk about what actions might be taken, including the possibility of demanding his resignation for such dishonest and, I would argue, unethical behavior. For now, I would urge concerned Alaskans, especially those who recreate in Chugach State Park, to contact Gease — and DNR commissioner Corri Feige — to register your alarm and request that Gease’s action be rescinded.
— Bill Sherwonit
Anchorage
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