Freeman Appointed To Commission
The lack of hunting-related information floating around about this gent makes me nervous.
From AZGFD:
Governor names Norman W. Freeman to Game and Fish Commission
Governor Janet Napolitano has nominated Chino Valley resident Norman W. Freeman to the Arizona Game and Fish Commission. He will replace Michael Golightly, whose term expires this year.
“Norm Freeman is a strong advocate for hunting and fishing and is committed to fulfilling the mission of Arizona Game and Fish,” Governor Napolitano said. “He has many varied experiences that will help him serve Arizona very well in this role.”
Freeman is currently the president of the American Saddlebred Horse Association of Arizona and a member of the board of the Chino Valley Irrigation District, as well as the president of the Carousel Charity Horse Show. He has previously served as the vice chair of the Chino Valley Planning and Zoning Commission.
Freeman’s work with wildlife has been extensive. Among other business ventures, he is the founder of Elemental Technology, a firm which developed wildlife tracking software for wildlife biologists and regulatory bodies. In 1994, he founded “Wildflight,” a privately funded operation to relocate wildlife, using corporate and private aircraft to move many species, including black bears, owls, hawks, eagles, osprey, and California condors.
Freeman has been extensively involved with the preservation of California condors in particular, participating in the California Condor Recovery Team – a multi-agency team including the Arizona Game and Fish Department – which defined the federal protocol for moving this endangered species. He also co-authored a successful behavior modification program to reduce the juvenile predation of young California condors by coyotes.
Freeman’s appointment requires confirmation by the Arizona Senate. For more information about the Office of the Governor, please visit www.azgovernor.gov.
We need to do some research on this guy, first glance doesn’t give me a “warm fuzzy feeling”. I may be wrong and hope I am but his work on the Condor recovery project leads me to believe that we will be seeing the lead bullet issue again.
What do we know about “Wildflight”?
February 18th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Simply because Mr. Freeman’s brief bio does not establish whether or not that he is an active, avid hunter should not lead to a concern regarding any assumed lack of his advocacy for hunting-related activities. I do not know Mr. Freeman and I never heard his name until recently. An advocate does not need to be actively engaged in any activity, including hunting, to recognize a social and legal justification for that activity.
Although you are not suggesting strong opposition to this current appointment, hunters severely hurt their causes when they adamantly oppose a commissioner simply because that person is not a hunter. This happened in 2006 with Commissioner Jennifer Martin. From an Arizona Republic article:
“Hunters were up in arms, saying that a person who didn’t hunt could not possibly be able to understand hunters’ issues.”
Read the full story, which every hunter, if he has the ‘intestinal fortitude’, should also let his wife or girlfriend read. From the July 23, 2006 Arizona Republic article:
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0723martin0723.html
Hunting is a tradition that is under increasing criticism and such Neanderthaloid comments stated in the article by hunters or their advocates do nothing but to further damage the perception the public has of hunters and eventually leads to the further diminishment of hunters’ rights. Unethical slob hunters who trash their hunting grounds are not the only image problem the hunting community faces; some of biggest problems wear business suits.
The AGFD Commission has a difficult, important job and the most important credential any commissioner needs is the ability of unbiased critical thinking. All the decisions the commissioners make must occur as the result of logical critical analyses of the science wildlife biologists and managers submit to them for consideration, regardless of any biased political pressures to which they might be subjected. From what I have discerned to date, Mr. Freeman appears to have the basic credentials, and more, to perform very well in the important oversight position as a commissioner.
Ron
February 18th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
All I was suggesting is that we do some research on this guy. And I stand by that comment. I would question anyone selected by any politician. You may be willing to follow blindly – I am not.
February 18th, 2008 at 4:59 pm