Tag Archives: Roland Maw
Smoke-filled rooms
With the fishing season beginning in the 49th state, Alaska Gov. Bill Walker has been holding private meetings to forge an agreement between commercial, sport and other fishing interests on how to manage salmon in Cook Inlet. The reason why is unclear. By law, the regulation of state fisheries falls solely under the jurisdiction of the Alaska Board of Fisheries. One of the first acts of the Alaska Legislature after Statehood in 1959 was to establish a Board of Fish and Game – later split into the separate boards for fish and wildlife management – to insulate resource decisions from backroom politicking. >click to read<10:37
Fish Board imposter?
A former member of the Alaska Board of Fisheries facing multiple felony charges of lying about his Alaska residency to collect Permanent Fund Dividends is suggesting he might have fallen victim to an virtual imposter. The claim comes in a 19-page brief filed for Roland Maw of Kasilof in which his attorney seeks to quash the Maw indictments. Attorney Nicholas Polasky of Juneau argues that a grand jury indicted Maw without any evidence that Maw was the man actually sitting at a keyboard making online reservations to travel out-of-state and purchase resident hunting and fishing licenses in Montana. “Mr. Maw does not necessarily assert that he is not the person who made the statements or engaged in the conduct that is represented in every single exhibit,” Polasky wrote. “However, Mr Maw does not agree that he is the person who made the statements or engaged in the conduct in some of the exhibits.” For that reason, Polasky wants most of the exhibits in the Maw case tossed and the indictment along with them. His request does reveal for the first time the extensive file the state has put together on Maw, the one-time director of the United Cook Inlet Drift Association. UCIDA is the most powerful commercial fishing organization in Cook Inlet. Read the story here 13:06
Former Board of Fisheries nominee charged with Permanent Fund fraud
A former head of the United Cook Inlet Drift Association and Alaska Board of nominee is being charged with illegally collecting $7,422 in Alaska Permanent Fund dividends between 2009 and 2014. Roland Maw, who owns a home in Kasilof, was charged Wednesday in Juneau District Court with 17 counts of theft and unsworn falsification on his applications for six years of Permanent Fund dividends and for commercial fishing permits. Read the rest here 08:27
Former Alaska Fish Board appointee Roland Maw charged with PFD fraud
Gov. Bill Walker’s controversial one-time appointee to the Alaska Board of Fisheries was charged Wednesday with 17 counts of theft and unsworn falsification over his applications for six years of Permanent Fund dividends and for commercial fishing permits. Roland Maw is accused of illegally collecting $7,422 in dividends between 2009 and 2014. The charging documents show he did not disclose that he left Alaska for more than 90 days during each of the qualifying calendar years, a requirement. Read the article here 15:16
Former Fish Board appointee Roland Maw fined $7k in Montana charges
Roland Maw, Gov. Bill Walker’s controversial appointee to the Alaska Board of Fisheries, pleaded no contest last week to illegally obtaining resident hunting and fishing licenses in Montana. As first reported by the Peninsula Clarion, Maw pleaded no contest to seven counts of license violations that he faced in Montana. According to the court order filed May 14 by Beaverhead County, Montana, Justice of the Peace Candy Hoerning, Maw purchased Montana resident licenses every year from 2008 to 2014. He claimed Alaska residency during those same years. Read the rest here 13:39
Gov. Walker makes another unorthodox pick for Fish Board, Meanwhile in Montana, former Fish Board appointee charged!
Gov. Bill Walker has made a second try at filling a vacant seat on the Alaska Board of Fisheries, this time picking Robert Ruffner, the director of a Kenai Peninsula conservation group for a position traditionally held by members sympathetic to sportfishing interests. Read the rest here Meanwhile, Montana law enforcement officials have charged Gov. Bill Walker’s one-time fish board appointee, Roland Maw, with seven misdemeanor counts of applying for and buying Montana resident licenses while he was not a resident of the state. Read the rest here 15:54
Montana investigating Walker’s former Alaska Fish Board appointee
Jim Kropp, the director of law enforcement for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said in a phone interview Monday that Roland Maw was under an active criminal investigation. Kropp wouldn’t answer questions about the subject or scope of the investigation beyond confirming that it was related to Maw. But a spokesman for the Montana agency, Ron Aasheim, said the matter involved the possession of Montana resident licenses by Maw. Read the rest here 11:09
Controversial Fish Board nominee Roland Maw, withdraws
A Kenai Peninsula commercial fishing advocate that Gov. Bill Walker had hoped to see appointed to the Alaska Board of Fisheries has withdrawn his name from consideration after his nomination became increasingly controversial. Grace Jang, press secretary for Walker, said Maw sent a letter to the governor’s chief of staff, Jim Whitaker, withdrawing his name from consideration. Maw’s confirmation hearing for Friday afternoon was canceled. Read the rest here 17:21
Nominee Maw faces marathon board confirmation hearing
Roland Maw may not get confirmed for the Board of Fisheries until he hears from every Alaskan who’s ever cast a line or a net, whether politician or private citizen. More than 40 people registered for public comment online and were heard only after some aggressive questioning by committee members worried about Maw’s priorities, particularly his involvement with the Cook Inlet commercial fleet, the lawsuits of his former employer, and the consistency of his science and biology championing. Read the rest here 14:33
Board of Fisheries debate continues
This whole Board of Fish controversy will undoubtedly continue until Roland Maw is either confirmed or rejected by the legislature. I don’t want to dwell on this subject too long, but material just keeps appearing weekly and needs comment. My editor forwards reader’s comments to me. So far, everything from the Kenai Peninsula regarding fisheries has amounted to hate mail, but some of it is “interesting” to read. Read the rest here 07:20
Governor Walker’s nominee insists he’s impartial as fish board fight looms in the Legislature
Maw’s appointment sent ripples through fish circles in Juneau and elsewhere, as Maw, a Walker campaign booster, is widely viewed as a strong or even radical advocate for commercial fishing interests. With Johnstone, the board, which divides fisheries among competing users, was evenly split between commercial and sportfishing advocates. Read the rest here 08:41
