Utah Wildlife Forum banner

Anyone Ever heard of this new group BGF

7K views 58 replies 14 participants last post by  paddler 
#1 ·
#3 ·
Its been around for quite a while now. According to this quote they formed in 2010.

Big Game Forever, a Utah-based nonprofit that spun off Sportsman for Fish and Wildlife in 2010, has secured hundreds of thousands of dollars in state money during the past four years to evict the gray wolf from the endangered species list. But the group's founders Don Peay and Ryan Benson have not disclosed where the money goes in their reports to the Legislature and to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR).
-DallanC
 
#4 ·
Yep, BGF has received taxpayer dollars for several years now, and nobody knows what they have done with the money. Government funded slush fund for Benson and Peay. The legislature gives them lots of money for nothing, they probably get chicks for free, too. Another sterling example of local politicians playing favorites, lack of oversight, and likely malfeasance. The Trib has covered this pretty well.
 
#6 ·
"Some of these matters are sensitive. This is not something to be discussed in public. I think we got our money's worth. I really do," Noel told colleagues.

my favorite quote. pathetic.
Yep. I don't understand how the legislature gets away with this crap year after year. One would think an audit is in order.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hoopermat
#8 · (Edited)
I remember when they got funded for the Utah wolf "problem" It was when I started the "Wolves on Trailcam" thread. Remember those days? Wolves everywhere in Utah, even behind the U of U.

Ridiculous....uh..not the "Wolves on Trailcam" thread, but the "problem".

see: http://utahwildlife.net/forum/29-other-kinds-animals/36764-wolves-trail-cam-29.html

Makes one wonder who was starting many of the Utah wolf sighting stories, with few, if any, pictures or videos of Utah wolves.

.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Longgun
#9 ·
BGF is a fraud on Utah tax dollars. It's absolutely unconscionable to me that our elected officials continue to give them money. It started out to keep the wolf out of Utah. When that well dried up, now it has gone to all about the sage grouse listing.

We continue to pump money to them, and they have zero accountability to the public, yet are very well-funded by public tax dollars. (Sound familiar? Don has figured this crap out!)

If there is any saving grace, more legislators are starting to ask about this. Maybe enough will get contacted by their constituents demanding action and accountability on this so that the legislators will start to care.

Have you reached out to your elected officials and asked for an answer and an accounting on this topic?
 
#10 · (Edited)
BGF is a fraud on Utah tax dollars. It's absolutely unconscionable to me that our elected officials continue to give them money. It started out to keep the wolf out of Utah. When that well dried up, now it has gone to all about the sage grouse listing.

We continue to pump money to them, and they have zero accountability to the public, yet are very well-funded by public tax dollars. (Sound familiar? Don has figured this crap out!)

If there is any saving grace, more legislators are starting to ask about this. Maybe enough will get contacted by their constituents demanding action and accountability on this so that the legislators will start to care.

Have you reached out to your elected officials and asked for an answer and an accounting on this topic?
Good idea. I'll do that. Here's an article about how our legislature spends our money:

http://www.sltrib.com/home/5027554-155/gehrke-in-utah-legislature-its-pet

I don't know if that was a separate bill or a line item added to the budget at the last minute. I think it was the latter, but will check it out.
 
#12 ·
I thought that article was a great read, and it called out a bunch of pet projects that legislators miraculously find money for, while claiming poverty when confronted with a bunch of good programs that could help people, or wildlife, or habitat, or waterways, or air quality, or water quality, or...
R
 
#13 ·
Someday we may see SFW or BGF offering money to other wildlife groups for habitat improvement, etc. Not sure how I feel about that, but it seems any such monies would be tainted. I wouldn't put it past those guys trying to buy influence with what were originally taxpayer dollars.
 
#14 · (Edited)
If there is a silver lining to stories such as this is that finally(!) there was pushback from other legislators with respect to the largesse doled out to BGF and all that so-called lobbying they were supposed to do.

The first linked article was written in February, when the legislature was in session, and they are now done. I never did hear about another huge check doled out to Benson/BGF this session. (It could have occurred and I didn't hear about it though) Maybe/hopefully the letters to the legislators have gotten through to a few of them.
 
#16 ·
If there is a silver lining to stories such as this is that finally(!) there was pushback from other legislators with respect to the largesse doled out to BGF and all that so-called lobbying they were supposed to do.

The first linked article was written in February, when the legislature was in session, and they are now done. I never did hear about another huge check doled out to Benson/BGF this session. (It could have occurred and I didn't hear about it though) Maybe/hopefully the letters to the legislators has gotten through to a few of them.
It would be interesting to hear the final details. This kind of last minute dispersal of taxpayer dollars without public debate is reprehensible and must stop. Audits are in order for past years, also.

Regardless...he's still a hack. No better than the selfishly motivated people he's criticizing.
I've always thought he's done a thorough job. Actually, I'm very impressed with the reporting in the Trib, especially given the ridiculous JOA. They even won the Pulitzer Prize this year, announced Sunday. Do you have specific articles you can cite for us that support your opinion?

BTW, everybody should subscribe to the Trib. My GSP fetches it every morning. She'll go to any required effort to get the paper, or find a chukar or grouse, by won't touch waterfowl. "You want me to put that in my mouth? No way."
 
#29 ·
As I recall, the original "wolf lobbying" contract was for $500000, so there may not have been any progress with this issue. It may not be be an apples to apples comparison however, as Benson/BGF was also going to "protect" the state from sage grouse and other activists as well as the wolves.
 
#27 ·
Interesting. I was told that SFW or BGF paid the DWR for the tags, then auctioned them off to the highest bidder and kept the profit. I'm with you though, no need for any outside organization to get a cut. The wildlife belongs to the state and the state should be the sole beneficiary.

I thought SFW was started by and run by Peay, BGF was an offshoot run by Benson? Whatever, it stinks. I spoke to Patrice Arent today, she is also in agreement that the current state of affairs is ridiculous. I put a call in to another state senator, waiting to hear back. I think if everybody made calls to their legislators, maybe we could make them nervous. There seems to be a rising tide against the status quo, which is a good thing.
 
#32 · (Edited)
All this bitchin and moaning and yet, come November, not one of the good old boys will get voted out of office, not one!
Sure, contacting your representative is important, but these guys are the ones passing, and have passed, these laws, and are giving the money to special interests. There is not a chance in He** you're going to change their minds. You must stop blindly voting the same people(or other similar stooges) into office and expecting things to change.
You have given a small group of avowed hardcore, right wing conservatives a monopoly with our government, over YOU! Like my old daddy useta say, dummy up or shut up!
 
#37 ·
I was talking about the physical paper, which I have no need for. A stack of newspapers in the garage seem a little outdated to me. I'm assuming we're not of the same generation though, and that's ok.

If I felt it was necessary(which I currently do not), I could pay the monthly subscription for the ad-free site just as I do for the NY Times and the Economist. Ad revenue for the online articles will have to suffice for now.

The trib has some great content, but it's not all good, or as fair and unbiased as you purport. They have done a great job delineating some of the battles that are important to hunters and bringing to light some of the corruption on the hill that has been discussed in this thread.

They are not some shining beacon on the hill for all hunters and fishermen though.
 
#38 ·
All things considered (get it?) its by far our best local newspaper, and I think supporting it is important. I think the job they do is amazing considering the ridiculous JOA perpetrated by the hedge fund and the Deseret News. The revenue is now split 60/40, with 40% going to the Trib. It was 70/30 previously, which is ridiculous when you consider the quality of the two papers.

And yes, I think it's safe to assume we're a generation or two apart.;) No stacks of newspapers in the garage, they get recycled each week. I read actual books, too.
 
#47 ·
I think Vanilla is right, it was an appropriation from the Natural Resources Appropriations Committee. I think I read in the Trib that they reduced the appropriation from the suggested $2 mil (by Noel) to 1.5 million. Either way, it's a lot of our money.
FYI--While searching for the appropriation, I noticed that SB-105 (the bill that urged the state to have a preference for leasing over selling of state lands) FAILED.
R
 
#49 ·
I don't think it was a separate bill, but rather just a line item slipped into the budget without debate. Not really sure how it works, except that it's sneaky and done solely by the Republicans.
 
#52 ·
Just giving credit where due. That's the first step in holding people accountable. V's post is, as usual, a smokescreen and total crap. In all my years in Utah and on UWN, I've never seen local Democrats push through or support anything that is against our best interests as outdoorsmen, put corporate extractive interests before conservation, clean air or clean water. Every single time, whether it's public lands, or stream access, the environment, or BGF and SFW, or whatever, the Republicans are ramming things through along party lines. When they stop pulling crap, I'll stop holding them accountable. Bury your heads in the sand if you like, but that does absolutely nothing to change behavior.
 
#56 · (Edited)
Paddler, your recent posts remind me of a line from Catcher in the Rye:

“It's partly true, too, but it isn't all true. People always think something's all true.”

There were some serious shenanigans that happened on the final vote of HB 141 in the House (BTW 43-28 ) where some of the Dem's and Rep's alike flipped their stance the final day. There are very sympathetic R's at the capitol to sportsman's issues. It is not fair to paint either party in absolutes. My only point is to illustrate that.

I think we probably agree on more than we disagree.
 
#59 · (Edited)
I wasn't talking about you, K.

I think the time for nuance is long over. Take BGF, for instance. Nuance has resulted in our legislature giving them money with absolutely no oversight or accountability five years running, while the amount has increased 700%. What's your end point? When is enough too much? I think we need to send a message. Get organised, form a group that speaks for all of Utah's outdoorsmen, and pay each and every legislator a visit. To paraphrase, "I know who you are, I know you voted against our interests. We have a very particular set of skills, skills that will be a nightmare for people like you. If you listen to us now, we will not look for you, we will not single you out. If you do not, we will agitate against you, we will campaign against you, we will vote against you, and we will defeat you."

I see nothing but upside for demanding transparency, accountability, and ensuring folks on the hill work for us.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top