Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Bill Cochran's Outdoors: Big change in DGIF board: Crumley out; Turner in
Bill Cochran is a Roanoke Times outdoors columnist.
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Leon Turner.
The past weekend, Sherry Crumley traveled from her home near the James River in Botetourt County to celebrate her parents' 64th wedding anniversary in Bristol.
Her father, Karl T. Smith, served as chairman of the Tennessee game and fish department in the 1960s. In 2002, when Crumley got the same assignment in Virginia, on the board of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, it was a proud time. She would become the board’s first woman chairperson.
But on the anniversary trip, Crumley carried the news that Gov. Bob McDonnell had dismissed her from the board with three years left to serve. The governor announced that Leon Turner of Fincastle would be the new 6th Congressional District representative. The district covers the lower Shenandoah Valley, including most of the Roanoke Valley.
The governor was scheduled to replace two members whose terms had expired, so Crumley’s dismissal and Turner’s appointment came as a surprise, even to them.
Turner held the same seat during two four-year terms from 1985 to 1993. He was chairman two years. The first board meeting of his new term is set for Oct. 5.
The governor’s media release on the change provided scant details, just 14 words on Turner and no mention of Crumley, or why she was dismissed. When asked about it, Crumley was equally succinct.
“I have enjoyed my eight years on the game department board and hope to continue to be involved in outdoor issues,” she said. “Leon will represent the 6th District as he did in the past.”
Her most positive contributions have been her efforts to introduce women and youth to the outdoors. She was the force behind the use of crossbows for hunting and a key supporter of an apprentice license that makes it easier for people to take up hunting.
The sixth district seat on the board has proven to be a precarious perch. Crumley got the assignment from Gov. Mark Warner, who dismissed Carson Quarles of Roanoke to make room for her. Quarles had three years left and had been chairman for three years.
The 11-board members serve at the pleasure of the governor, but even in the whacky world of politics it is rare for anyone to be dismissed mid-term.
Often board seats go to people who campaign for them or who contribute heavily to the governor’s election, but Turner said that wasn’t the case for him.
“I didn’t give a nickel,” he said, expressing surprise that he got the call.
Turner has been in touch with McDonnell only a couple of times and, other than allowing his name to be included on a list of sportsmen that favored the Republican, he didn’t campaign for him.
Crumley campaigned for McDonnell’s opponent, but that is just one possible explanation for her dismissal. The apex of discontent can be traced to the 2005 ouster of Bill Woodfin, the out-of-control executive director of the DGIF. Crumley continued to defend Woodfin well past the point it became evident he was bad news for the agency. Turner worked to get Woodfin fired. Friends became advisories.
A lifelong outdoorsman, Turner, 73, lives comfortably in retirement with his wife, Jenny, on a 40-acre spread in the rolling hills of Botetourt County. He worked for the railroad for 38 years, retiring as an assistant chief engineer of industry and development for Norfolk Southern.
In the '70s, he was one of the founders of the N&W Rod & Gun Club, which grew to more than 600 members. He was its president for 12 years. He has held a leadership role in a number of outdoor organizations, including the Tri-County Forestry and Wildlife Association and the Virginia Wildlife Foundation. The Botetourt County Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation presented him its top award.
“One thing for sure, I’m not carrying a political agenda down there,” said Turner.
What he will be taking are tough questions concerning actions of the board. He knows how things work and isn’t afraid to express his opinion, even if it means standing alone.
Turner was troubled when the board approved an elk plan last week that was contrary to the recommendations of its staff of wildlife biologists. He said there was too little concern about how much it would cost and where the money would come from.
At a time when the agency has taken responsibility for hundreds of species that aren’t hunted or fished for, Turner remains a hook and bullet man at heart; a deer and trout kind of guy.
Yet he says he recognizes that avenues of revenue must be established from people who enjoy the outdoors but don’t buy a hunting and fishing license to help pay for the cost of running the DGIF.
“I’ve always thought it would be good to have a bottle tax and make sure everyone knows it will be spent for wildlife,” he said. “You’ll not find anyone against wildlife.”
McDonnell made two other appointments to the DGIF board, both to fill terms that have expired. They are, Lisa Caruso of Church Road, the commonwealth’s attorney for Dinwiddie County, and Curtis Dixon Colgate of Virginia Beach, a managing partner of Peaceful Valley LLP, an investment firm in the tourism business.
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