Mainers on social media are voicing their acute disapproval of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW) in response to a Monday hiring ad posted on Facebook after a former game warden revealed the department’s left-wing agenda.
[RELATED: Former Game Warden Calls Out the Political Agenda Taking Hold of Maine’s Fish & Wildlife Service…]
“My son wants to be a game warden but I told him no one wants to work in that hostile environment the best applicant should get the job no mater there [sic] sex or race or how gay they are,” said one Facebook user, Travis Stanley.
The IFW put out a hiring ad for a new Fish Culturist position, but they were met with hostility from Mainers who watched an interview conducted by the Christian Civic League of Maine with former game warden Josh Polland.
During that interview, Polland revealed the department’s growing support for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) hiring practices and its prioritization of LGBTQ events over the functional needs of the department, and discussed his own battle against false harassment accusations while facing a biased department commissioner.
“After watching Josh’s story good luck finding quality Individuals with integrity to fill that position,” said another Facebook user, Justin Wildman.
“As much as i [sic] appreciate the men and women of inland fisheries and Maine warden service, you’re losing the faith of Maines sportmen [sic] and women. Give up the DEI, LGBT crap and get back to protecting Maines [sic] woods and waters,” said Mark Vogeler.
“The rainbow flags and tents and drag queens only distract from the work and goals of IFW. Worse than that perhaps, it makes it difficult to respect the departments or at very least take them seriously. You folks are making this bed youll [sic] have to sleep in it,” he added.
“Do you need to be gay,” asked another user, Kevin Pendexter.
During his interview, Polland asserted that, since Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine) appointed Judy Camuso as department commissioner, the IFW has begun to hire based on the gender of applicants rather than their qualifications.
Commissioner Camuso previously vowed that she would make the department 50 percent female, and has made hiring decisions and committee assignments based on that goal.
She was forced to rescind a policy that required half of every hiring board to be composed of female employees after the Trump administration warned the department that the policy was discriminatory and would lead to a loss of federal funds.
The department has also hosted multiple LGBTQ events and has spent taxpayer funds that could have been used for department’s wildlife and fishery needs on merchandise showing the IFW logo in rainbow colors and hiring a drag queen, Letta Dicken, to perform at their LGBTQ outdoor “extravaganzas.”
Polland also warned of a hostile work environment with a commissioner who refused to penalize a female warden for false harassment claims against him, and who criticized him for not handling the situation differently even after the allegations were deemed false.
“After that last interview I wish you luck trying to find somebody that wants to put up with your f****** abuse. it [sic] sounds like this department needs to be stripped down and rebuilt or dismantled all the way. Too much abuse,” said Facebook user Barry Guess.
