Rocky Mountain National Park has proposed killing hundreds of elk and perhaps letting wolves loose to reduce what biologists say has become an unmanageable population.
A draft elk management plan released today includes a recommendation to have park employees or contractors use unspecified lethal means to get rid of 200 to 700 elk in the first four years. After that, another 25 to 150 elk would be culled annually for 16 years.
The goal is to reduce the number of elk from the roughly 4,000 now roaming the park and adjacent town of Estes Park to between 1,200 and 1,700.
Biologists say the huge elk herd has overgrazed the so badly that other animals and plants have been hurt by loss of habitat and food. Elk numbers have escalated because the animals have few predators and no hunting is allowed in the park.
Wolves were wiped out in Colorado by the 1930s after ranchers, government agents and others shot, trapped and poisoned the predator.
Any proposal to release wolves in Colorado would have to be considered by federal and state agencies and would meet strong opposition from ranchers and others.
The plan backed by park officials also suggests fencing off aspen trees, whose bark is a favorite elk food.
Other options include giving elk birth control and a less aggressive culling program that would remove only 100 to 200 elk a year over 20 years.
The Park Service will issue a final environmental impact statement after taking public comments.
Rocky Mountain National Park straddles the Continental Divide about 60 miles northwest of Denver. Its spectacular mountain vistas draw nearly 3 million visitors a year.
