Two members of the Indiana Natural Resources Commission — including its long-serving chair — have resigned, blaming Gov. Mike Braun’s administration for “stifling” citizen input and curtailing the board’s role working with the Department of Natural Resources.
“After decades of service, it is disheartening to see the Commission’s role diminished and the voices of those who have supported and worked with it for generations increasingly disregarded,” wrote chair Bryan Poynter in a resignation letter to Braun on Tuesday.
At the commission’s last meeting in March, Poynter sounded off against a new practice by DNR Director Alan Morrison that the chair said excluded the citizen panel from the input process.
Historically, the group would preliminarily propose rules before voting to adopt them, giving the board a chance to have direct say. Instead, Morrison began posting preliminary approvals himself, which is permitted under Indiana administrative rules. The commission learned about the change in March, when they were asked to OK a rule they’d not previously seen.
“Since the appointment of Alan Morrison as director of DNR, it has become apparent that an agency that thrived on transparency and engaging the public to foster sound public policy has become a cabal in which citizen input has been stifled,” citizen member Bart Herriman wrote to Braun in a June 12 resignation letter.
Under the new process, board members can’t make changes to the rules proposed by Morrison and would have to attend public hearings to provide input.
For instance, Morrison submitted a proposed rule change in April to increase bobcat hunting and trapping without NRC’s input.
“The current Department leadership has seen fit to destroy public trust, push forward resource management decisions based on whims and not science, eliminate transparency, and terminate all communication or engagement with the Commission,” said Poynter, who has chaired the commission for 20 years.
In a statement to the Indiana Capital Chronicle, the DNR said the letters were not an accurate reflection of the relationship between the department, commission and public.
The DNR added that Morrison’s “approach maintains openness throughout every stage of the rulemaking process.”
“Using this preliminary adoption authority that has been in place for 30 years allows the state’s transparent rulemaking process to begin promptly, rather than waiting months for the next NRC meeting, while still ensuring that commission members retain full opportunity for review, input, and final approval,” the DNR statement said.
Herriman also alleged other ways transparency had been undermined, including last-minute public hearing agenda postings and meetings scheduled far from the areas affected by the regulations up for consideration.
DNR outlined a robust public comment process in its response that is “fully transparent and open to both the public and NRC members.”
The 12-member board comprises six citizen members selected by the governor, three ex officio members from state agencies, the DNR director, the chair of the NRC advisory council and a representative from the Indiana Academy of Science.
Earlier this year, the commission came close to being scrapped in a House bill that abolished dozens of boards and commissions deemed inefficient by legislators.
“What the Indiana General Assembly failed to do by statute…” Herriman wrote in his letter, “Director Morrison has achieved administratively by neutering the NRC and stifling public input, so pet projects can be jammed through.”
Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com.
