Elk populations come and go in the lofty wonderland that is Rocky Mountain National Park, but the controversy that surrounds them seems to hang around forever.
Even as park officials push through the waning weeks toward a final environmental impact statement, the debate over what should be done to excess animals, and by whom, reverberates from mountain top to the halls of Congress and back again.
A press release last week from U.S. Rep. Mark Udall of Eldorado Springs punctuated his continued interest in a process of herd reduction that might involve the use of “qualified volunteers,” i.e. licenses sportsmen contracted to the park under joint supervision with the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
The Colorado Wildlife Commission has urged the use of regulated sportsmen as an economical and constituent-friendly way to sharply reduce the numbers of elk causing resource damage inside the park and beyond to the Estes Valley. Udall, eager to solidify his bond with sportsmen in a bid for the U.S. Senate, has thrown the weight of his office behind the proposal.
All of which leaves park superintendent Vaughn Baker and his superiors walking a political tightrope on which they teeter above jagged rocks of bad publicity on either side. It all began with an $18 million to $20 million estimate of the cost for a reduction effort involving private contractors, sounding an alarm among taxpayers and sportsmen. Baker points out this expense covering a period of 10 years, projected an initial annual lethal reduction of 700 animals based on Estes Valley population estimates of up to 3,500 in 2001. That cost calculation included ancillary items such as extensive fence building and meat processing, with the mandate to err on the high side under National Environmental Protection Agency guidelines.
A couple of significant events happened since:
* A large number of elk, perhaps 500, departed the park for lower, and perhaps greener, pastures just west of Loveland.
* Others migrated down into the Estes Valley, where hunters bagged an estimated 720 animals in Unit 20, the largest harvest in more than a decade.
“I guess you could say our problem moved down onto the valley to some extent,” Baker said.
With an estimated 2,200 animals remaining, Baker is left with a far lesser problem he believes can be managed largely in-house at considerably less expense. In a letter to Udall that the congressman released last week, Michael Snyder, the NPS regional director and Baker’s immediate superior, outlined a possible scenario that might be included in the upcoming revised plan, expected in August or September.
Snyder suggested the use of NPS personnel and other “authorized agents” that could include personnel from other federal agencies, DOW and ever-popular “qualified volunteers.” Snyder said the final plan will evaluate the roles of each and the circumstances under which they would be appropriate.
Baker pointed out that the RMNP elk herd is, literally and figuratively, a moving target.
“We can’t assume the downward trend will continue. Elk that moved out can move right back in again,” said Baker, who opined the recent migrations were related to a peculiar pulse of drought and heavy snow.
But the superintendent can anticipate that the public bugling will continue whatever his agency decides. Large, hungry elk herds are messy that way.
Staff writer Charlie Meyers can be reached at 303-954-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com.
