Nelson County man battled DGIF for fish hatchery records

When Virginia’s Department of Game and Inland Fisheries halted public access to Nelson County’s Fish Hatchery, neighbors were not happy.

Before the ’03 closing, the hatchery, nestled in the tiny community of Montebello in the county’s mountainous western reaches, had drawn an estimated 40,000 visitors each year.

“The hatchery is a strong part of the Montebello identity. You take away the hatchery, you’re cutting off an arm,” said Paulette Albright, who lives with her husband, Lee, just up a winding dirt road from the attraction.

Last summer, fellow neighbors unofficially tapped the Albrights to pilot a campaign to reopen the hatchery.

The neighbors could not have chosen better.

The Albrights circulated a petition and sent it to the game commission.

They contacted their state senators and representatives.

Lee Albright even paid a five-day visit to the 2004 General Assembly.

And, along the way, he learned about the Freedom of Information Act, joined the Coalition, asked for DGIF’s records and refused to go away quietly when the department ignored some of his record requests.

Nor was he happy with a $207 bill that included: (1) charges for creating a spreadsheet he’d never asked for; and (2) charges for time spent arguing about the bill.

To make matters worse, DGIF board chairman Daniel A. Hoffler waded into the fight with a scathing letter that accused Albright of harassing the agency and failing to support funding for the department in its previous budget struggles (as if that had anything to do with a citizen’s access rights!).

Albright set the record straight.

“My letters and activities,” he wrote, “are not attacks or harassment but rather the persistent pursuit of open government. Informing the public about VDGIF activities and repeating unanswered questions are my rights and responsibilities as a citizen affected by your actions. “

Furthermore, he said, “for years I have purchased boat licenses and fishing licenses and subscribed to Virginia Wildlife. Our property is under a conservation easement and enrolled in the Forest Stewardship Program which includes supporting wildlife habitat at our own expense. We allow hunting. The SLAP Team has held training exercises on our property.”

Faced with continued agency stonewalling, Albright went to the FOI Advisory Council. Weeks later, he got a four-page opinion that strongly affirmed his access rights – and said DGIF clearly had been wrong to charge him fees for a spreadsheet he’d not sought.

Said the opinion, “If a public body were allowed to charge a citizen for time spent explaining or discussing disputed costs, it would deter a citizen from making a good-faith inquiry into charges for records, because such an inquiry would result in an increase in the charges.”

Albright then wrote DGIF, asking it to indicate “your actual cost for making copies or provide documentation if the cost is outside the $0.10 - $0.15 per page range.”

“Please note agencies are not permitted to charge for time spent settling FOIA fee disputes,” he added.

In late April, he got a two-sentence letter from DGIF that said “in light of the FOIA Council’s opinion,” it was providing the requested current payroll records.

A few days later, Albright fired off another letter, reminding the agency he also wanted to inspect payroll records from three prior years. He also still wanted minutes of board meetings showing that certain policy issues had been discussed.

Albright told a Charlottesville reporter that he and his wife were quick to take up the cause because they’re retired and “not intimidated by the situation.”

“It’s not just a matter of raising fish,” he said. “It’s more to it than that.”

Meantime, the DGIF announced that the hatchery would reopen. So would its other four trout hatcheries, free of charge or not.

— Sources: Albright files; Charlottesville Daily Progress