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Fish and Wildlife chief resigns Agency faces tough budget issues in Legislature By Mark Freeman The head of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife resigned Monday in a move insiders said was an attempt to sacrifice his own job to help get his department�s $205 million budget adopted this year. Jim Greer, who since 1997 has headed the 1,000-employee agency charged with natural resource protection, will step down effective Feb. 15. Greer apparently believed he could not shepherd the agency�s budget through this legislative session amid clashes with leadership over myriad natural-resource issues, said Don Denman, who sits on the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission that oversees the ODFW. Compounding this, Greer apparently had lost Gov. John Kitzhaber�s confidence in running the agency, said Denman, a Medford attorney. "Our commission has the mission of preserving, enhancing and protecting Oregon�s natural resources, and many legislative leaders represent a constituency that believes the department has stood in the way of their desires," Denman said. "(Greer) represents the department. "Most of the commission feels it was a matter of the messenger being shot," he said. Greer could not be reached for comment Monday night. In a prepared statement, Greer said he is not in a position to effectively represent the agency. "The department�s programs and budget appear to be in a very tenuous position at the Legislature," Greer said. With the 2001 Legislature barely under way, it was clear to those like Al Elkins, an Oregon Hunters Association lobbyist stumping on behalf of the ODFW budget, that Greer had become a stumbling block. Beliefs by legislators that Greer�s agency was not meeting the needs of Oregonians, particularly around issues of wild salmon and steelhead protection, made Greer�s directorship a budget liability, Elkins said. "I think he�s stepping aside for the good of the agency, and I think it will help discussions," Elkins said. "We�ll be able to focus on the budget and not Mr. Greer�s performance." After former director Rudy Rosen resigned in February 1997, Greer inherited a department with budget and morale problems. His appointment by the commission was met with lukewarm approval among Oregon�s political leadership at a time when some natural-resource policies were white-hot political topics. Issues like Oregon�s salmon and steelhead hatchery programs, the Oregon Plan for wild salmon recovery and the state�s wild fish policy were all political "flash points" that Greer had to handle, said Sen. Jason Atkinson, a Jacksonville Republican and Senate leader. On these and other issues, Greer found himself tugged and pulled between the governor, the Legislature, his own fish and wildlife commission and federal agencies � all of which were not in agreement on how to tackle these issues, Atkinson said. "Jim found himself in the middle of a lot of these flash points," Atkinson said. "He just kept finding himself in the cross hairs. "How would you like to wake up and play defense all day?" Atkinson said. "It�s a tough job.... but I thought he�d weather the storm that�s been brewing." The ODFW�s information and education division did not release details of Greer�s resignation Monday. Denman said he does not know about any plans to find and name Greer�s successor. Denman described Greer as a thoughtful and good man for a job in which those qualities could not save him. "But that, I guess, is the beauty of politics," Denman said. "Or the ugliness of it." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.