Admittedly, salmon fisheries management and season setting are highly complex. But over the last six years we’ve witnessed and learned enough to understand that something has gone very wrong, and the current process is broken. The fact is that by failing to address these critical management deficiencies, the leadership within WDFW has turned its back on Washington State’s recreational salmon anglers. Is this solely the fault of the current Director of Fish and Wildlife? Not really. This problem has been allowed to fester over many years and under multiple Directors. Perhaps this is why the leadership within WDFW can’t see it. Or maybe, given their scale and complexity, these issues just appear insurmountable and unfixable to the Department leadership. Whatever the reason, we can tell you from out here on the water the issue is pretty clear: The Director of WDFW has given up on advocating for the taxpaying/license buying anglers of Wa state.