Scandal in the Vologda region: the governor went to war against hunters

Bureaucratic reform may have irreparable consequences

In the Vologda region they decided to carry out a large-scale reform with dubious results. The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, the Oblokhot Department and the Forestry Department will be merged into one structure. The merger will take place by decision of the acting governor Georgy Filimonov. The new department in the structure of the Government of the Vologda Region will report directly to the head of the region.

The acting acting director explained his decision by saying that the departments were not doing their jobs effectively. However, many industry representatives believe that this is, to put it mildly, a controversial decision. These are three departments that sometimes face diametrically opposed tasks. Whether they will really be able to work together and find compromises is a moot point. Moreover, according to our information, the merger was not even approved by the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation.

HELP “MK”

Now in the Vologda region there are 189 specially protected natural areas (SPNA), including 3 of federal significance. These are the Darwin State Biosphere Reserve, the Russian North National Park, and the Andom Mountain natural monument. 170 protected areas are of regional significance. Of these, 163 are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the region, 5 are under the authority of the Department for the Protection, Control and Regulation of the Use of Fauna of the Vologda Region, 2 are under the authority of the Department of Agriculture and Food Resources of the region. The rest are of local importance.

Alexander Lisitsin, head of the United Editorial Office of Okhotnichye Publishing, told MK about how the merger of departments could affect the very existence of hunting in the region:

“They will take care of the forest, they will give free stakes to foresters. Ecology can become the second echelon. And the hunt will go third. The example of other regions where similar structural changes occurred shows a very negative result. They began to engage in hunting on a residual basis. The protection of hunting resources deteriorated, and poaching flourished.

There is one more point. Subjects of the federation receive subventions to carry out the functions of protecting animal resources. If previously their intended purpose was to protect hunting resources, now where will they go? The money will go to the forest. Practice shows that this has always happened.”

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 29208 dated February 2, 2024

Newspaper headline:
The governor went to war against the hunters