I served as a member of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife waterfowl working group. This group is formed of folks interested in the future of Maine ’s waterfowl populations. There were about fifteen of us and as you might imagine the room was filled with a range of opinions. Everyone was there with the best interest of Maine’s ducks and geese and the future but each person brought a different focus or location to the table which made the discussions lively and interesting. I was not jealous of the facilitator who had to try and keep us on topic and productive. The group was very cooperative and goal oriented I think that by the end of the day we have achieved a clear set of goals and objectives for the department to work from for the next fifteen years.
To the department’s credit they use this working group process to develop goals for each species that they manage as a way to ensure that they are delivering the wildlife resources that the people of Maine want. That is not to say that it is a perfect process (after all how many folks are so invested in waterfowl that they can take two days off to sit in facilitated meetings) but it is a genuine effort that provides valuable direction. I missed out on many of the other working groups because they happened while I was working at the department and not eligible to participate. Now that I’m back in the private sector I’m able to take part in the process.
I enjoyed having a chance to make my opinions heard and to hear the opinions of other folks that share my interest. I think that we were able to pretty much agree on most of the final product and that we gave the Department some useful direction. The interesting thing will be to see if any of it has an impact over the next fifteen years.
Add new comment