Wildlife director leaving Juneau

Juneau's legislative delegation questioned a move by the Parnell administration to relocate the director of the Division of Wildlife Conservation from Juneau to Anchorage, and praised the work of the previous director, who was demoted.

Denby Lloyd, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, announced last week that Division Director Doug Larsen would be demoted to Southeast regional manager, and Assistant Commissioner Corey Rossi would be made the new division director today.

House Minority Leader Beth Kerttula, D-Juneau, said she was "mad" that the position would be moving to Anchorage.

"Wildlife (Conservation) Division deals with a lot of controversy and has a lot of issues before the Legislature; this position needs to be in Juneau," Kerttula said.

"I do not like to see jobs travel out, we never want to see this happen," said Rep. Cathy Muñoz, R-Juneau.

Lloyd wouldn't say why the position was being moved, but defended the move by saying that the position had been based in Anchorage prior to 1991.

Rossi's current position, now vacant, will be moved to Juneau, Lloyd said.

Rossi was hired as an assistant commissioner on Dec. 30, 2008, to work on "abundance-based wildlife management" according to a press release announcing his hire at the time.

"There is no net loss in Juneau ADF&G positions," said Jennifer Yuhas, department spokeswoman.

Gov. Sean Parnell declined comment on the decision to move the director's position to Anchorage. Spokeswoman Sharon Leighow also declined to say why the position had been moved, and referred questions to Lloyd.

"The commissioners decide where to locate staff," she said.

Commissioners can recommend where they want staff located, but relocations must be approved by the Governor's Office of Management and Budget.

Lloyd's written request to move the Wildlife Conservation Division director's duty station to Anchorage suggests it was at Rossi's insistence.

"He has accepted the position and requested to perform the duties from Anchorage," wrote Lloyd's administrative services director to the OMB.

The memo suggests, but does not say explicitly, that Rossi would not accept the job if it were to remain in Juneau.

"If the location changes are denied, the division will be unable to fulfill the staffing appointment," the Fish and Game memo said.

Sen. Dennis Egan, D-Juneau, called locating the director in Anchorage a "bad idea," and said he's been unable to determine why the position held by Larsen had been moved.

Kerttula said a desire by Rossi not to relocate was not good enough reason to move the position to Anchorage.

"If it's because the guy lived in Wasilla, I don't accept that as a valid reason," she said.

Muñoz said she was unable to obtain an explanation for the move as well.

"They did not give a specific reason," she said.

Kerttula praised Parnell for helping protect Juneau jobs overall, in contrast with big moves under former Gov. Sarah Palin.

"The governor has actually stanched the flow out of Juneau, but this one is an important one," she said.

In the second half of 2009 - generally corresponding to Parnell's tenure as governor - 24 jobs have been moved out of Juneau, but 17 have moved to Juneau, according to information the Division of Personnel provided to members of the delegation.

Egan also said he believed that Larsen should have remained as division director.

"He was doing a great job in that position. (He was) respected by a lot of people," he said.

Muñoz said she hoped Rossi would continue Larsen's work.

"A lot of great things have happened in the last couple of years in terms of hunter education, wildlife viewing, non-game education - my hope is that the new director will not change the focus," she said.

• Contact reporter Pat Forgey at 586-4816 or patrick.forgey@juneauempire.com.