The vision document is great at leading with the platitudes of leadership excellence past as well as planned. However, it says nothing about service to publics. The overall pupose should be to serve the publics who support and are interested in refuges. There seems to be a disconnect here in my opinion. Leadership for the sake of leadership or excellence in a group that has no connection to serving their publics is a problem.
Leadership should be about managing staff effectively. The draft mentions encouraging employees and increasing motivation. Holding refuge managers accountable for meeting public needs is part of this. It is hard to motivate employees if there is no accountability.
Refuge managers seem to be particulary exempt from public accountability. Different managers have different policies regarding such things as deer hunting on refuges. Some allow it some do not. Some are hunter friendly some are not! An example is Quivera NWF in KS where the refuge managers over the last two managers reign has been of a mindset that the refuge is my property and I will do what I want. Quivera goes so far as to refuse unarmed retrieval of wounded deer that are shot off the refuge and travel onto the refuge and expire. This encourages waste of game meat, which is illegal, and sends a message to sportsmen that USFWS and refuges in particular do not care about hunting or those who participate in it. I thought refuges were purchased with duck stamp monies? This is primarily from hunters! Where is the accountability of the refuge managers to their publics and where is the leadership in addressing such issues?
