Last Pro-Hunting Member of the California Fish and Game Commission Resigns

Jan 6, 2016
SACRAMENTO—Jim Kellogg, the last, and one of the first, pro-hunting California Fish and Game Commissioners, has turned in his resignation, part of what appears to be a mass exodus of long-time pro-hunting state employees from the DFW and the F & G Commission.

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JIM KELLOGG, long time California Fish and Game Commissioner, states "frustration" as the reason for resigning from the Commission after serving through 17 other Commissioners in 14 years on the Commission, and 6 different directors of the DFW. Kellogg is the last pro-hunter currently sitting on the Commission. Commissioners are appointed by the Governor.
Preceding Kellogg's resignation, Executive Director of the Fish and Game Commission, Sonke Mastrup, turned in his resignation just weeks ago, and DFW Deputy Director Dan Yparraguirre retired last week. Fish and Game Commissioner Jack Bayliss has also turned in his resignation to the Commission. These departures follow many others in past years, leaving a department that many feel has "lost its way" under the leadership of Director Chuck Bonham.

Other pressures, of course, are from Governor Brown's appointments of non-hunting and fishing appointees Eric Sklar and Anthony Williams as members of the Fish and Game Commission who ignore DFW scientists and biologists, and are heavily influenced by non-consumptive, anti-hunting animal rights groups.

This reporter held a phone interview with Kellogg on Dec. 31 regarding his decision to resign, and here's what he had to say:

"Frustration just finally got to me," Kellogg said. "I've been on the Fish and Game Commission longer than anybody since it was established in 1870, and I've been appointed by 3 governors. I feel I've done a good job of representing hunters and fishermen. For the first 10 or 12 years on the Commission I won for them more often than I lost, but for the past couple of years, I've been losing more battles than I've been winning on behalf of hunters and fishermen.

"It's been frustrating," Kellogg said. "Finally, after getting rid of the two pain-in-the-butt commissioners (Ed. Note: Michael Sutton and Richard Rogers,) the governor appointed two others that have never hunted or fished, (Ed. Note: Sklar and Williams)!"

"When hunters are gone, the animals will be gone, too, because there will be nobody to replace the money spent by hunters and fishermen for habitat, fish and wildlife programs," Kellogg said. "Nobody else will put up the money. My fear has always been that we would lose the right to hunt in California. It probably won't happen in our lifetimes, but probably will in our grandkids."

WON asked him, "What influence do animal rights groups have on Commission decisions?"

"Not just them, but a combination of things—it's a multitude of frustrations. As an example, people that come on the Commission may have given the perception that they are in favor of hunting and fishing, but really weren't. So they were appointed. We have one Commissioner who wanted to ban lead bullets in the coastal range and wanted to expand that to statewide. I won that battle in the Commission, but he took it to the legislators and they passed the ban on lead ammunition anyway! That's a frustration, when they go to their liberal legislators, win the battle there, and it gets crammed down our throats despite Commission decisions.

"At the beginning, the majority of the Fish and Game Commissioners were pro-hunting and fishing," Kellogg said. "It went back and forth, of course, but we have been outnumbered at least 3 to 2 the last couple of years, and they were able to go against DFW recommendations and protect wolves before there even any in the state, and then ban the trapping of bobcats. That put people who, for generations, have been trapping to put food on the table and put their kids through school. Now, they are out of work."

WON asked if he felt the Fish and Game Commissioners were abiding by the North American Wildlife Management Plan, and listening to the Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists and scientists who have the knowledge?

"No, they are not listening to DFW scientists and biologists recommendations," Kellogg said. "I've been through 17 other Commissioners in 14 years on the Commission. I've been through 6 different directors of the DFW, and through 4 different Executive Directors of the Fish and Game Commission, and all of it has been politics—not science. Every time there is a change, the direction changes.

"Sonke Mastrup, for instance, came from the DFW with the experience needed to run the Fish and Game Commission, which is why I was instrumental in having him hired as the Executive Director. There will never be another one as good as Sonke was, but now he has resigned. A lot of the other wardens and biologists are all bailing out. It's a losing fight and we're burned out on it and we need younger people to come up to fight the fight.

"We did some good things over the years, and I've always tried to get the best deal for the fishermen as well as the hunters. I'm the one who promoted boat limits on the partyboats, and worked with the herring limits. For bass anglers, I'm the one who promoted legal culling after 5 fish during tournaments. Those are all things we did to help."

The outdoor community has lost a long time fighter for the rights of hunters and fishermen and outdoor recreationists in California, and the future for outdoor recreationists dimmed a little bit more with the resignation of Jim Kellogg from the California Fish and Game Commission.

—Bill Karr
Staff writer, Western Outdoor News

WON would like to express our sincere gratitude to Bill Gaines of Gaines & Associates - the hunting community's leading and most respected advocate in front of the Fish and Game Commission - for setting up this exclusive interview with Mr. Kellogg. Mr. Gaines was the first private party notified by Kellogg regarding his resignation. Gaines became a good friend of Kelloggs by working with him closely on issues of importance to the hunting community for Jim's entire 14 years as a member of the Commission".