DENVER—Federal officials are considering allowing volunteers to help cull the elk herd in Rocky Mountain National Park, the approach preferred by Colorado state wildlife managers and some federal lawmakers.
Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., said Friday that Michael Snyder, the regional National Park Service director, is willing to consider using licensed hunters to help thin the herd that biologists say has outgrown the area.
Udall and Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., have sponsored bills authorizing the park to use hunters in the culling.
“I will continue to be involved in this process to make sure that the sportsmen and women are given a fair shake as the Park Service moves this process forward,” Udall said in a written statement.
Spokesman Tyler Baskfield said the Colorado Division of Wildlife is pleased the federal government is thinking about allowing volunteers to participate. The state Wildlife Commission has endorsed involving hunters, saying it would be less expensive and more efficient.
“We strongly believe that public hunting opportunities should be the main tool to help that effort,” Baskfield said.
A preliminary proposal by federal officials recommends using sharpshooters to cull the herd in Rocky Mountain National Park, about 70 miles northwest of Denver. The herd, relatively safe from hunters and predators, has grown to an estimated 3,000 elk. The goal is to have about 1,200 to 1,700 elk.
Overgrazing by the herd has nearly wiped out aspens and willows, prime habitat for beavers and birds. Elk also roam through the yards and gardens of homes outside the park, increasing chances for conflicts with people.
North Dakota’s Theodore Roosevelt National Park faces a similar dilemma, where the public is pressuring park managers to enlist hunters rather than taxpayer-funded shooters to reduce the elk herd.
The draft plan for Rocky Mountain National Park suggests different options for shrinking the herd. The one recommended by park officials would thin the herd over 20 years with contractors or federal employees shooting the animals at night to keep the culling out of public view.
The program’s cost was estimated at $18 million, although park officials expected it to be lower in the final plan, due later this summer. The cost includes research, monitoring and fencing to protect vegetation from overgrazing.
Udall and state wildlife officials have said involving licensed hunters would be less expensive and less wasteful because the meat would be used. Udall and Allard sponsored bills authorizing the use of volunteers after park officials noted that a federal law prohibits hunting in the park.
The Park Service is reviewing options, including using employees, people from other agencies, Indian tribes and qualified volunteers, Snyder, the agency’s regional director, wrote in a June 1 letter to Udall.
“We believe that we have existing authority to use any of the above, where deemed appropriate,” Snyder said. “The final plan will evaluate the possible roles for each of these and outline the circumstances under which their use would be appropriate.”
Complicating what can be done with the elk meat is the presence of chronic wasting disease, a brain-wasting ailment in deer and elk that’s in the same family as mad cow disease. People have urged the park to give the meat to food banks and shelters, but officials say federal law requires that each individual who gets the meat give consent.
Advocates of restoring wolves to Colorado say the problem of too many elk could be solved by releasing wolves in the park. The draft management plan released last spring said wolves would best meet environmental objectives and do the least damage, but doesn’t recommend that option.
Releasing wolves in the park would require separate federal plans and approval.
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On the Net: Elk and Vegetation Management Plan:
