Oklahoma Wildlife Commission Was Disingenuous with SE Oklahoma

The following was published in my hometown newspaper, The Hugo Daily News, on 07 March 2012.

These are my comments concerning a “recent” decision by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation commission that I felt was very deceptive, to say the least.

 

     Yesterdays Hugo Daily News front page announcement, and the accompanying editorial, did a very good job describing the “recent” ODWC commission’s decision and “vote” to issue further mandates restricting 4-wheeler activity in the Honobia WMA. 

     Yes, the issue included many variables to be considered…not least of which is that much of Honobia WMA is private property managed by ODWC and private property rights, in my opinion, are to be protected at all costs.  With that being said, that doesn’t mean that the state has license to lie and deceive…which is what occurred in this instance.

    At a meeting for “Public Comment” in Antlers, relative to the Honobia WMA matter, well over 100 concerned citizens were told: “The restrictions are not set in concrete” yet a few minutes later it was revealed that an agreement had ALREADY BEEN SIGNED.  Hmmmm…here we are at a meeting, supposedly designed to gain public input, offering input on a contract which was already a done deal.  We were then told, by ODWC officials (the state), to get with our elected officials at the state level…that this would be “beneficial”.  Both Rep. Pruett and Sen. Ellis happened to be in attendance and it was finally agreed, with their input and with a vast majority of other atteendee consensus, that a two-year moratorium would be offered so that alternatives could be pursued.  The overwhelming majority of concerned citizens left that meeting feeling pretty good about the outcome.

     I can guarantee many of those good folks are asking themselves today: “Did I miss something? Did I not hear something correctly?”. The answer is: Nope, your memory is fine!  You were just deceived.  The “recent” decision was not recent at all.  The ODWC made their decision long ago when they inked the official state signature to the contract on your behalf.  The “vote” was mere political showmanship. 

     Our input didn’t matter…especially after-the-fact!  Are instances like this rare, you may ask?  Not at all!   Freedoms and natural rights and the voice of the public are being stolen everday by that one thing that is by its very nature “force”.

“Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force…” — George Washington

Respectfully;

Howard Houchen