[Jeff Higgins]

You have it completely wrong, Patrick. The public has denied the game department and its personnel the option of employing sound, scientific management principles. When they were were allowed to employ such practices, they had the somewhat boring job of monitoring others' hunting. They didn't have to hunt themselves as a part of their jobs. Now they do, as a direct result of having the preferred option taken from them by the voting public. It's this newfound opportunity to hunt on the public's dime that has them feeling they have died and gone to heaven, but none of them would ever characterize this opportunity as "sound management practice". It's a desperate, necessary stopgap, but that does not mean they can't enjoy it. They would prefer, however, to do their real jobs - that of managing game populations, utilizing the hunting public as a valuable tool to accomplish that task. They can't do that anymore, so they are on to "plan B".