Just about had my fill of banquets

I never thought I’d say this, but I’m getting banqueted out!

Through the generosity of Alaska Outdoor Council (AOC) Executive Director Rod Arno and member Andy Couch, my wife and I were able to attend the AOC fundraiser banquet held in Wasilla this past weekend. This was another fun event with great food and folks willing to spend some money to support the mission of the AOC. That mission is to protect and defend Alaskan’s hunting, fishing, trapping and access rights on lands and waters in Alaska.

Thanks Rod and Andy!

I saw a lot of the same faces at this banquet that I saw at the Friends of the National Rifle Association (FNRA) banquet the weekend before. One of those faces belongs to Denny Hamann, chairman of the Alaska FNRA state banquet. I’ve known Denny for several years and worked with him back in my time with the Matanuska Valley Fish and Game Advisory Committee, where Denny had served as a member, vice-chairman and chairman during his committee membership years. He’s done a lot to help protect our hunting, fishing, trapping and firearms ownership rights over the years. Denny was recognized for some of his work by being named the 2009 Alaska Volunteer of the Year by the Alaska FNRA.

Denny mentioned he enjoyed the column from last week, but pointed out a mistake I had made. In the interest of being as correct as possible (but not politically correct) in my statements, I’m rectifying my error. I said that all the money raised by the local FNRA chapters stays in-state to support various activities and grants supported by FNRA. I was wrong. Half the money stays in-state and the other half goes to support similar activities at the national level. Not a big distinction, but one that should be made. Thanks for setting me straight, Denny.

Another worthy fundraiser is happening tomorrow evening at the Best Western at Lake Lucille in Wasilla. The Brianna Gregory Foundation is hosting its sixth murder mystery and banquet, “The Case of the Interrupted Opera: A Sherlock Holmes Murder Mystery and Masquerade.” I mentioned this about a month ago, so I hope you have already bought your tickets and developed your costume/character. One of the founders of the foundation, Neil Moss, is very active in hunter education and shotgun shooting sports across the state.

The Brianna Gregory Foundation is a nonprofit organization that raises money for Children’s Hospital at Providence and for children with life-threatening diseases and chronic illnesses. In addition to funds raised through the sale of tickets to the murder mystery, art and dessert auctions and raffles are held, door prizes awarded and donations gladly accepted. Corporate sponsors can also contribute. Tickets are $55 per person or $400 for a table of eight. If you want to attend and haven’t yet purchased tickets, call 373-0961 today.

Another event you might want to mark down on your calendar is happening Nov. 1 starting at 6:30 pm at the LIO office in Wasilla. State Rep. Mark Neuman is hosting a public meeting with Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) fisheries managers to discuss this past season’s Cook Inlet salmon season. Staff members from both Sports Fish and Commercial Fisheries divisions are expected to be in attendance to discuss how the commercial and sports catches were managed and to take questions about why and how certain management decisions were made in-season. I would expect to see other legislators, ADF&G advisory committee members and others involved in state fisheries management decisions in attendance as well.

If you have been fishing in the Valley this past salmon season, you are aware of the continuing poor king salmon returns and the unexpectedly well-below-average returns of coho salmon. I’ve seen some figures put together by the chair of the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Sportsmen’s Committee, Bruce Knowles, that suggest sportfishing efforts are falling off across the Valley due to these poor king and coho runs. That trend, if real, does not bode well for that industry here in the Mat-Su. I would encourage you to come out and hear what the ADF&G biologists are saying and maybe ask what they are doing to rebuild our Northern District salmon stocks.

Finally, another item in the continuing saga of the failed Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) “Operation Fast and Furious” gun program. If you’ve been following this situation, the BATFE ordered dealers in border states to allow sales of firearms to known and suspected smugglers in an effort to break up networks running guns to Mexican drug cartels. However, the BATFE lost track of hundreds of these firearms until large numbers started showing up at crime scenes in Mexico and the United States, including at the site where a U.S. Border Patrol agent was killed in a gunfight.

The U.S. Senate voted 99-0 Tuesday to block the government from transferring guns to drug cartels unless federal agents can “continuously monitor or control” the guns. The vote’s sponsor, John Cornyn, R-Texas, called the vote “just the first step toward ensuring that such a foolish operation can never be repeated by our own law enforcement.”

Legislative investigations into this operation have also turned up memos suggesting that Attorney General Eric Holder knew much more about this botched program than he alluded to during questioning by U.S. House Republicans. I guess the term “honest Washington politician” truly is an oxymoron.

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.