Here’s one vote of confidence for new appointee

Corey Rossi resigned about a month ago as director of Fish and Game’s Wildlife Management Division. Dale Rabe was immediately appointed as acting director, but since he’s close to retiring, another person was appointed to run the division until a permanent director is chosen. That new appointee is Doug Vincent-Lang.

Vincent-Lang was a special assistant to the commissioner prior to this appointment. His main career background is in fisheries, although he has been involved with several other programs within the department, including, among others: dealing with endangered species, exotic species introductions and outreach actions to the public and other agencies, giving him a history of dealing with wildlife issues.

I received an email from a friend in Fairbanks shortly after Vincent-Lang’s appointment asking what I thought of Vincent-Lang as acting director. I knew Vincent-Lang during my time with Fish and Game and, in fact, he was my supervisor for a period of time while I worked in the Sport Fish Division access program.

I actually was senior, time-wise, to Vincent-Lang when I came under his supervision, but since the bulk of my time was with another division, I was the new kid in Sport Fish. Vincent-Lang had worked on several fisheries projects, including making significant contributions to the Susitna hydro studies and saltwater bottomfish research and management over time. He was working his way up through the ranks in the region and the regional boating access program was assigned to him as part of some reshuffling of supervisory duties amongst regional staff. That’s how he became my boss.

Vincent-Lang is one of the most intelligent people I have ever met. He is an extremely quick study on picking up new information, and he grasped new concepts and approaches very quickly. He also was loud and enjoyed teasing and making jokes at others’ expense, often at inappropriate or awkward times. A lot of folks in the office didn’t appreciate his seemingly immature antics. I didn’t know how to take him and when he became my supervisor, I was at a total loss how to deal with him. I didn’t think I was doing my job very well based on his comments around the office.

Shortly after he took over my supervision, I had a performance evaluation due. My former supervisor wrote about half and Vincent-Lang wrote the rest. For obvious reasons, I was expecting a not-so-good evaluation. Vincent-Lang called me into his office, closed the door and handed me my evaluation to read so we could discuss it and do signatures. I was flabbergasted to see the “outstanding employee” box checked and read a discussion of why that ranking was warranted.

I finished reading, looked at him and told him I didn’t understand where he was coming from and I didn’t know how to take him. I was not reading him in a way I could relate to. Vincent-Lang became serious and we spent the next half-hour or so in a soul-baring discussion of what each one expected from the other in job performance.

From that point on, I interacted better with him than with any other supervisor I had in my years in Sport Fish. We didn’t always agree on things and I would tell him why he was wrong, and he did the same for me on occasion. He was the only supervisor I had in the access program who took time to learn how the program functioned and the sideboards imposed on it. As a result, he understood why I prioritized and did the work the way I did and he got me a position upgrade because he realized the significance and responsibility of the program to the division’s functioning. He was my best supervisor; however, in the spirit of balance, he did welsh on a Super Bowl football bet when his Packers lost to my Broncos in 1998!

I know Doug has matured significantly as his responsibilities have increased. I saw that while interacting with him during my time on the Board of Fisheries. His knowledge and experience bases have continued to expand because of the difficult challenges he has been tasked to handle over the years from the commissioner’s office. He is a true, seasoned fish and wildlife management professional.

That’s some old background and an open disclosure of my history with Doug Vincent-Lang. So what do I think of how he would do as director of the wildlife division? He would have a steep learning curve to become familiar with many of the issues the division faces, but any new director, even one from within the ranks, would have a similar situation. I think he would do quite well.

In a perfect world, the department would recruit a seasoned candidate with a strong education, work history and supervisory background in Alaska wildlife management issues with years of experience dealing with those issues hands-on in the field, in the political arena of the Board of Game, and in the venue of public opinion. This person would already be an outstanding employee within the division and be willing to deal with the political realities of the position career-wise. There aren’t many people like that. Compromises must then be made. The commissioner, for example, was hired for her administrative and political skills. She has a total lack of formal scientific or educational background and hands-on field experience in fish and game matters.

I don’t know if Vincent-Lang is being considered for the permanent position or if he would take it if offered, but the wildlife division would be hard-pressed to find a better acting director.

Also, be watching for the drawing hunt permit winners in newspapers over the weekend.

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. You can leave him a message by emailing sports@frontiersman.com.