Judging from its recent annual conference, dark days loom ahead for the Alberta Fish and Game Association early in its second century, thus, also for the fish and wildlife resources of the province.
Theme for the AFGA’s 81st annual conference held in Edmonton Feb. 18th to 20th was Partnerships, referring to the coalitions of conservation groups, government and some private companies that have grown over the last two decades, resulting in the leveraged acquisition, maintenance and preservation of huge acreages of fish and wildlife habitat in Alberta.
Examples abound in the list of AFGA Wildlife Trust Fund Properties, now totaling 35,520 acres. For example, Antelope Creek, or the Ward Ranch, near Brooks, has as partners, the AFGA, the fish and wildlife division of Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, and Ducks Unlimited; the Stonehouse section, near Pine Lake, east of Red Deer was acquired by a partnership of AFGA and DU again, but adding the Alberta Conservation Association.
But partnerships often dissolve, often in bitter acrimony; marriages, perhaps our most common partnerships, too frequently and furiously end. The executive of the AFGA is itself a partnership usually focused on running the association and furthering its aims and objectives.
When I arrived at this year’s conference the delegates were abuzz that their president, Quentin Bochar of Morinville, just one year into what is generally a two-year term, was being challenged for the presidency by 1st vice-president, Conrad Fennema of New Sarepta.
Such a challenge was unprecedented in my attendances at these conferences, going back to 1966. After I got back home I checked with Elmer Kure, of Spruce View, the oldest living AFGA past president, whose association with the organization goes back to the 1950s, and he could not recall a serving president ever being challenged for the presidency by a vice-president.
No wonder the delegates were puzzled and wondering why the challenge, what’s wrong? etc., and expected they might get some answers in the candidates’ three-minute campaign speeches prior to the election at the annual general meeting on Saturday, the last day of the conference.
Meanwhile, there was much delegate interest in and curiosity about their chance to take the measure of the new Minister of Sustainable Resource Development, Hon. Mel Knight, in his address to the conference late Friday morning. It didn’t take long to realize that the long partnership of SRD and the AFGA was dissolving.
The minister was totally unprepared, had no speech, and after a few “we’ll remain friendly for the sake of the kids” type comments, opened the floor to questions.
The two main questions involved game ranching and possible government legalizing of so-called “hunt farms” in Alberta.
Mr. Knight seemed totally oblivious to game ranching being the source and cause of the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease among Alberta’s wild cervids, deer and elk.
About hunt farms he had these chilling comments: “Cervids belong in agriculture.
I have no issue with ‘harvesting’ animals that we raise . . . I am no bleeding heart . . . I don’t believe Alberta is ready for hunt farms yet, but the issue is not going away . . . We must allow people in that (game ranching) industry to control their own destiny.”
Delegates were united in their view that they had heard the absolute worst performance ever by a minister at these conferences: “ignorant,” “pitiful,” even “insulting” were words frequently heard.
Those judgments had nothing to do with the fact that Mr. Knight said nothing about the $150,000 government grant the AFGA has been receiving for the last seven years for efficiently and economically doing Alberta’s conservation work; nobody expects the AFGA to get that grant any time in the future, considering the recent 12 per cent cut in the SRD budget.
Clearly the partnership — the marriage — is over.
Back to that presidential election. By Saturday morning it was clear that if Conrad Fennema did not explain to the delegates why he was challenging the president, the delegates would toe the line that the AFGA’s top officers “will take their turn.” Insiders were saying that Fennema was the stalking horse for the executives’ dissatisfaction with Bochar’s performance in his first year — his lack of focus or agenda, his failure to communicate — receive or send — both within and without the AFGA — and their desire to give him a wake-up call.
In his three minutes Fennema was too much a gentleman to explain why he was running out of turn, to repeat the executives’ complaints, in other words, and he lost the election to that “take your turn” credo.
The delegates were hoping that Quentin Bochar got the message and starts doing the important job of the president of Alberta’s largest and most geographically diverse conservation organization, a job that suddenly got bigger and tougher the moment the new minister opened his mouth. Either that or resign as a very few AFGA presidents have done in the past when the job proved tougher than they expected, or they couldn’t take the heat.
Bob Scammell is an award-winning outdoors writer living in Red Deer.