Paul Rogers of the San Jose Mercury News says the ultimate fate of Richards could have important repercussions:
If Richards [is replaced by Gov Jerry Brown]...that's a move that for the first time could give the commission a majority of members who tend to support the priorities of environmental groups. Currently, the commission is split 2-2, with Commissioner Richard Rogers often casting the swing vote.
Hanging in the balance in the next year or two: issues such as whether to expand the number of black bears that can be killed every year by California hunters, whether to ban lead shot or whether to offer state endangered-species protections to wolves.
Here's the letter Gavin Newsom wrote to Richards yesterday, asking him to step down.
Thank you for more than 4 years of service to the people of California as a member of the California Fish and Game Commission. Unfortunately, recent events make it clear that you cannot continue in any capacity on the Commission. (California wildlife official in hot water over mountain lion hunt, San Jose Mercury News, February 17, 2012) I must confess to a personal interest in this issue above those of my current office. As you may know, my father, Judge William Newsom is a long-time mountain lion protection advocate and past president of the Mountain Lion Preservation Foundation. Additionally, I have personally worked for the protection of these majestic animals and their habitat.
While not in California at the time, your actions call into question whether you can live up to the calling of your office. Since 1870 the Commission has worked to manage the wildlife resources of our state. As president of the commission, I am sure you understand that merely complying with the conservation laws of California is not the standard by which the Commission or its members are measured. As is stated on the Commission's website, your actions should be in the "best interest of the resource and truly reflect(s) the wishes and needs of the people."
I do appreciate that you did nothing illegal in Idaho, but it is clear that your actions do not reflect the values of the people of California. In 1972, Governor Ronald Reagan signed legislation banning the sport hunting of mountain lions in California for 5 years. That ban was twice renewed before the voters of California passed Proposition 117 in June 1990.
I'm sure I needn't remind you of the many challenges facing California and the important work ahead for the Commission. Your continued presence on the Commission is a distraction from those important issues.
As such, I am prevailing on your sense of civic service to respectfully request you resign, effective immediately, so we can move on to the pressing issues facing our great state.
Tom Stienstra, The San Franisco Chronicle's outdoors columnist, wrote an interesting blog post about the photo when the issue first emerged.
From the post:
Most from rural backgrounds would see nothing wrong with the photo. Mountain lions are predators that kill lots of deer and other animals, including house pets and farm animals, and fewer of them means more of just about everything else. Same with coyotes. Since the hunt occurred in Idaho, where mountain lion hunting is legal, there was nothing illegal about anything Richards did...
Some think that mountain lions are a threatened or endangered species. They are neither. Wildlife biologists say that lions are healthy and abundant in much of California. Mountain lions are rather a specially protected species in California by a law created by a voter’s initiative, not by wildlife biologists.
