A spring filled with gun shows and board appointments

Is it just me or are we having the option to attend more gun shows than usual for this time of year? I’m not complaining, mind you. The more shows the better, as long as new material is displayed at the various shows and they aren’t too repetitive. Since the beginning of 2015, it seems like there’s been a gun show every other week or so.

Perhaps it’s just my “senior” memory!

We had the Wasilla Hockey Boosters show in January. The Palmer Lions, the Mat Valley Sportsmen’s Association, and the Alaska Gun Collectors have all held shows in Raven Hall on the state fairgrounds in Palmer. And starting tomorrow, the Houston High School gun show will happen at the Big Lake Lions ice rink in Big Lake. That show will continue through Sunday.

Add in the two outdoors shows, one in Wasilla and one in Anchorage, and perhaps you’ll get a sense of my “wow” thoughts here. Let’s hope the public isn’t saturated with gun/outdoor shows and attendance in Big Lake is good. Since this show is only about a mile from my house, I plan to be there. I enjoy not having to drive 25 miles one-way to attend a local gun show!

Let’s switch gears and discuss the Board of Fish situation. It was hard to miss, but in case you did, the legislature approved the nomination of Orville Huntington to a second term and rejected the second nominee by the governor. Huntington hails from Huslia and is seen as the “subsistence guy” on the board. I’m glad he requested a second term and was nominated and confirmed. He’s a “good guy.”

The second nominee, Robert Ruffner from the Kenai Peninsula, was not confirmed by the slimmest of margins. This makes the second candidate the governor has appointed to the Karl Johnstone seat since he informed Johnstone that he would not be renominated.

The first candidate, Roland Maw, withdrew his name after coming under investigation for illegally claiming Montana residency when buying Montana hunting licenses while also claiming Alaskan residency. Maw has been charged by the State of Montana with seven counts of criminal activity in this matter. If convicted in Montana, I would expect Alaska would bring charges of permanent dividend fraud against Maw for the same years he claimed Montana residency. Not a bright outlook for Maw and a poor vetting job by the governor’s staff in making this recommendation for nomination.

Ruffner, on the other hand, brought a reputation of honest and hard work in the fisheries habitat arena along with, in my opinion, an excellent working knowledge of fisheries issues in Cook Inlet for someone not directly involved in the fisheries issues (read Cook Inlet fish wars) for either side — commercial or inriver.

Ruffner came under serious scrutiny because of the predominantly commercial fisheries oriented groups supporting his nomination and the fact that he lives in an area politically dominated by commercial fishing groups. One concern was the supposed unending pressure from friends and neighbors on both him and his family to “see” things with the commercial perspective. I agree that would constitute a tough situation for Mr. Ruffner and family.

Further arguments against Ruffner maintained that he didn’t live in Anchorage and doesn’t appreciate the problems and concerns Anchorage residents encounter when going dipnetting or even sport fishing for salmon. Other points were raised, but that lays some groundwork. Several in-river user groups objected to Ruffner because either he would not sign written commitments to advocate for them or they just didn’t trust what Ruffner said he would, or would not do if confirmed.

I spoke directly with Ruffner by phone for over an hour and I got the sense he was a decent, hardworking individual who, if confirmed, might actually put the fisheries resource first in regulation decisions in spite of whose toes got stepped on in the process. I don’t think anyone found fault with Ruffner professionally or personally. I believe Ruffner’s nomination failed because of the level of distrust created by the “fish wars” of Cook Inlet.

When I was nominated for the board in 2007, I was a relative unknown regarding Cook Inlet issues. Because I was from “the Valley” I was obviously perceived as a “sports guy” positioned against the commercial viewpoint every time. Commercial fishing interests from the Kenai Peninsula objected to me on that basis.

The locations reversed but Ruffner got caught in the same levels of distrust.