New fish board member named, not divulged

  • By Rashah McChesney
  • Tuesday, May 19, 2015 10:53pm
  • News

The deadline for Alaska Governor Bill Walker to appoint a third person to an open Board of Fisheries seat came and went Tuesday with no announcement, though staff in his office said he has made his appointment.

However, when reached late Tuesday retired Fish and Wildlife Trooper Robert “Bob” Mumford, of Anchorage, said he had been appointed to the open spot.

Mumford, who is currently finishing a three-year term on Alaska’s Board of Game, will not immediately be subject to the legislative confirmation process that tanked the last person Walker appointed to the position — Soldotna conservationist Robert Ruffner.

Walker’s office has yet to announce the appointment.

“We will make an announcement first thing tomorrow,” wrote Walker’s press secretary Grace Jang in an email Tuesday evening.

Alaska’s Board of Fisheries is a seven-member board that sets management plans and allocations among users of the state’s fisheries.

Mumford, who has also been on the Big Game Commercial Services Board, said he did not have one specific issue he was looking forward to tackling.

“Right now, it is going to be studying up on a lot of issues that are going on right now. It’ll take me a little bit to get up to speed, although I’ve tried to follow the politics of it,” he said.

The open seat has become the subject of intense scrutiny since former board chairman Karl Johnstone stepped down early upon learning that he would not be reappointed to the position.

Walker first appointed Roland Maw, a longtime Kenai Peninsula resident and commercial fishermen who resigned the position one month into the confirmation process. He was charged with illegally obtaining resident fishing and hunting permits in Montana shortly thereafter.

Walker then appointed Ruffner who was targeted by an intense lobbying effort by sport and personal-use fishing organizations seeking to frame him as sympathetic to commercial fishing interests. Ruffner narrowly failed to be confirmed by the Legislature in April.

Walker’s latest pick said he was looking forward to serving on the board.

“I’m very neutral and I know there’s a division between commercial fisheries interest and sport interests,” he said. “I’m very neutral on that and I think that’s probably a good thing for this board right now. I hope to bring some good common sense and reasonableness and just a fresh voice to the board.”

The upcoming Board of Fisheries cycle focuses on finfish, including salmon. The board has meetings scheduled for Bristol Bay, Arctic, Yukon, Kuskokwim, Alaska Peninsula, Bearing Sea, and the Aleutian Chain next year.  

Reach Rashah McChesney at rashah.mcchesney@peninsulaclarion.com or follow her on Twitter @litmuslens.

More in News

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
Brad Snowden and Julie Crites participate in a Seward City Council candidate forum at the Seward Community Library in Seward on Thursday.
Seward council candidates discuss issues at election forum

Participating in Thursday’s forum were Julie Crites and Brad Snowden

Cam Choy, associate professor of art at Kenai Peninsula College, works on a salmon sculpture in collaboration with the Kenai Watershed Forum during the Kenai River Festival at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska, on June 8, 2019. (Peninsula Clarion file)
Soldotna adopts arts and culture master plan

The plan outlines how the city plans to support arts and culture over the next 10 years

Architect Nancy Casey speaks in front of a small gathering at the Fireside Chat presented by the Kenai Watershed Forum on Nov. 30, 2022, at Kenai River Brewing in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Watershed Forum’s Fireside Chats return Wednesday

The chats will cover a range of interesting topics, centered on knowledge, research and projects

Erosion of the Kenai bluff near the Kenai Senior Center. (Photo by Aidan Curtin courtesy Scott Curtin)
Kenai to sign bluff stabilization agreement Monday

A signing event will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the Kenai Senior Center

Engineer Lake Cabin can be seen in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on Nov. 21, 2021. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Public comment accepted for proposed rate increases for overnight fees at refuge

Campsites would increase $5 per night and cabins would increase $10 per night

Abigal Craig, youth winner of the Seventh Annual Kenai Silver Salmon Derby, is presented a novelty check by Kenai River Sportfishing Association Executive Director Shannon Martin, City of Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel, and Kenai Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Samantha Springer at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Silver Salmon Derby nets fish, funds for river protection

116 fish were weighed by 79 anglers across the six days of competition

Soldotna Public Works Director Kyle Kornelis talks about the Soldotna field house project during a Soldotna City Council meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna awards field house contract

Anchorage-based Criterion General, Inc. will construct the facility

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche testifies before the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly during a meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Assembly to let borough mayors speak sooner during meetings

The mayor’s report will now be given after the first round of public comments and before public hearings and new assembly business

Assembly members Lane Chesley, left, and Richard Derkevorkian participate in a borough assembly meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Haara/Peninsula Clarion)
Assembly asks state to allow term limits for school board members

Alaska Statute does not allow term limits to be imposed on school board members

Most Read