Even as the Colorado Wildlife Commission weighed in heavily on the side of sportsman participation in any reduction of the Rocky Mountain National Park elk herd, a solution may have appeared to what seemed a looming conflict.
Just when many hunters were prepared to paint the federal government as the ultimate heavy in this dicey game of national park wildlife management, park superintendent Vaughn Baker introduced a possible resolution that may satisfy nearly everyone.
Speaking at a commission meeting in Fort Collins last week, Baker floated the notion of contracting the Division of Wildlife as the official agent in herd management, an arrangement that might solve most of the knotty problems permeating the RMNP conundrum.
“If Bruce (Bruce McCloskey, director of the Division of Wildlife) came to us and made a proposal as a cooperative agency, we’d take a hard look to see if it fits into our law and practice,” Baker said.
Before we delve further into conjecture, the facts of the matter are these:
An expanding elk herd estimated at 3,000 animals poses a threat to the ecosystem of the park and the Estes Valley, literally eating itself out of house and home. RMNP biologists recommend trimming this number by half. One estimate places the long-term cost of hiring professional sharpshooters at $18 million.
Federal law specifically prohibits hunting in the park, a barrier to the widely suggested use of licensed sportsmen.
Case law and tradition grant authority to manage wildlife to the states. This means park officials can’t harm a hair on an elk’s head without consent of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, the wildlife commission or DOW – whichever entity ultimately speaks for the state.
Colorado sportsmen are adamant in their opinion that they should be commissioned for the job and are willing to pay to do it. In a flood of calls and e-mails in the wake of an earlier column on these pages, residents and nonresidents expressed outrage at the notion of spending so much tax money on a task they’d pay to perform for free.
With so much seeming discord wafting through the ether, commissioner Rick Enstrom initiated a resolution that encouraged the National Park Service to seek enabling legislation or regulatory authority to involve public hunters in the herd reduction.
The resolution also directed DNR to seek the support of Colorado’s congressional delegation in that process. The resolution gained unanimous approval of the eight commissioners in attendance.
Meanwhile, Baker’s unexpected suggestion may have opened a figurative back door to the Alamo.
“If there’s a way for DOW to serve as a contractor, then this might be a solution,” said Baker, who added that he also felt “shock” when he heard the earlier $18 million cost estimate.
“We’d have to check with our lawyers and your lawyers to see if any such agreement would be feasible.”
Under such arrangement, DOW and/or parks officials would serve as strict supervisors of public participants in any such paring of the herd – a problematic undertaking under any circumstance. The park’s approximate 3 million annual visitors arrive during every season, including dead of winter.
Whether a contract between the park and the state indeed might bridge the considerable legal chasm remains to be seen. But it certainly warrants a full examination.
