The chairman of the Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF) is speaking out after he was criticized over emails — made public — that he sent to Sen. Steve Bair, R-Blackfoot, and Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter’s office regarding the performance of the Idaho Fish and Game Commission.

Doug Sayer, who believes in a citizen’s right to participate in the political process, says he was expressing his personal opinion when he sent the emails, not the Wild Sheep Foundation’s. But that wasn’t clear to some.

“I apologize to the citizens of Idaho for writing something that can be misunderstood to such a degree that both the problem I was trying to address, and who I was speaking for, could be confused,” Sayer wrote in a letter to the editor submitted to the Journal. “At the same time I want to reaffirm my belief in citizen participation in the political process. Every citizen should be allowed to exercise their 1st Amendment right by expressing his or her point of view as I did without fear of retribution.”

Sayer says he has become increasingly concerned about the strained relationship between the Fish and Game Commission and the Idaho Legislature, which approves the commission’s funding. And his emails were about the automatic reappointment of commissioners whose terms were expiring.

“It is my strong personal belief that automatic reappointments to boards and commissions should not generally be the norm,” Sayer wrote in his letter to the editor. “These appointments are some of the tools that the Governor has at his disposal to make the Executive Branch work.

“A good working relationship between the various parts of the Executive Branch and the Legislature is highly desirable. The people and wildlife of Idaho deserve no less.”

The reappointment of commissioners and the auction of big game tags lie at the heart of recent controversies.

The Legislature in 2012 gave authority to the Fish and Game Commission to auction up to 12 “Governor’s Wildlife Partnership” tags, including three each for deer, elk and pronghorn and one each for bighorn sheep, moose and mountain goat.

Yet to the chagrin of many lawmakers, the commission has declined to offer any tag for auction except for bighorn sheep, which has been auctioned annually since 1988. That tag sold for $90,000 in January.

House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, and Sen. Bair, attempted to force the commission into auctioning the tags with a legislative proposal introduced this year, but that attempt died without a hearing.

Months later, Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter declined to reappoint two members of the Fish and Game Commission. Sportsmen and commissioners argued that the commission was being punished for not bending to the will of lawmakers.

But Sayer disagrees with that.

“The Commissioners whose terms were expiring were not automatically reappointed,” he wrote. “They did not apply for reappointment. It is hard for me to understand how the Commissioners who did not reapply for appointment can complain about the Governor’s decisions to appoint others in their place.”

Sayer says that his emails weren’t about auction tags. Still, he added that while he, personally, is against the mandatory auctioning of tags, he realizes such auctions can bring in needed income.

“I understand that the money gained by the auction of tags can be leveraged by the use of Federal matching funds so that the substantial income from the tags is multiplied several times,” he wrote. “While this type of program may not be appropriate if it means taking meat off someone’s table, it is certainly something to consider when attempting to bring money to a Department that desperately needs it. In fact, the careful use of auction tags could actually reduce the need to generate funds from the sale of licenses.”

But there are other ways to generate funds, too.

Officials with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game are preparing to push a plan to raise hunting and fishing fees, despite previous resistance from state lawmakers who have refused to advance similar proposals.

Director Virgil Moore announced earlier this month that his department has had to cut services because of a drop in funding. The agency relies on revenue from licenses, tags and permits to cover operational costs and does not receive general state tax dollars. However, those fees haven’t increased in roughly 12 years.

Moore says he plans on asking lawmakers to approve raising resident fees in 2018. As part of the plan, a person can lock in the current price by buying a license in 2017 and each subsequent year — which would allow them to avoid the fee hike.

If approved by the Idaho Legislature, the plan would increase fees by $1 to $6. For example, this would bump hunting licenses from $12.75 to $15.75, while an elk tag would jump from $30.75 to $36.75. The plan is expected to raise $1 million annually.

Sayer feels all appropriate management tools and income sources should be considered to help the commission.

“In the near-future, funding measures will come before the Legislature that may make adjustments to the cost of license and tag fees,” Sayer wrote in his letter. “Please encourage your representatives and legislators to study this issue carefully, and if appropriate, support legislation allowing the department to adjust the license and tag fees, as well as other sensible funding measures, so the Idaho Department of Fish and Game will have the money it needs to adequately oversee wildlife conservation efforts in our state.”