Rocky Mountain National Park May Shoot Elk
by Dave Workman
Senior Editor
In a move that may alarm some hunters, the National Park Service (NPS) is considering a management plan that has, as one option, the shooting of hundreds of elk inside Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park by park employees or hired contractors to reduce elk numbers and their impact on the ecosystem.
The elk population has grown to about 3,000 animals, and they have essentially overgrazed the habitat. The one option that might seem most viable—transplanting the elk—appears to be out of the question because of the presence of chronic wasting disease (CWD).
Public Comments
The park service is accepting public comments on the draft plan until July 4. To submit comments, send them by mail to: Superintendent, Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, CO 80517, or fax comments to the Superintendent at: 970-586-1397. Remarks may also be submitted via e-mail to: romo_superintendent@nps.gov.
The unusual measure comes after years of research that, according to a statement by the NPS, was launched to determine the size and dynamics of the elk herd in the park and surrounding area. Elk are migratory by nature, but apparently, the park herd, and animals in nearby Estes Valley, are less migratory and more concentrated. Willow and aspen stands are on the decline, and it appears the elk herd is having a negative impact on various components of the local ecosystem. Other wildlife species dependent upon the aspen and willow habitat are in trouble.
But the draft plan appears to have left out one possible option: selective permit hunting by sportsmen and women.
USSA Wants Hunting
Rob Sexton, vice president for government affairs with the US Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA) provided Gun Week with the following remark: “The Sportsmen’s Alliance believes hunting should definitely be part of any plan to control these animals.”
USSA spokesman Dale Miles suggested that if the park service adopts the plan to shoot elk, which is one of several options under consideration, it would be “reducing a valuable animal like the elk to vermin.”
“The very heart of conservation is letting hunters do the part of predators,” Miles said.
Mark Armstrong, spokesman for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF), said his organization is “very concerned about the study” and is looking at it closely.
“We do support the research that the park service is using to make its alternatives available to the public,” he said. “We believe the park service has worked very hard to develop alternatives based on good scientific research.”
But he also noted that “it would be great if the park service would consider some other alternative.”
CWD Threat
In the past, RMEF volunteers have helped with elk transplant operations. But in this particular case, the presence of CWD rules that out. Essentially, nobody would want such animals, no matter where they would be sent.
Park biologist Mary Kay Watry told Gun Week that CWD has been confirmed in both elk and mule deer populations in the park and in the area. She said hunting was actually considered early in the process as an option, but due to the CWD presence, it has been rejected.
Besides, the law does not allow for hunting in national parks, and it would take an act of Congress to change that. So, Watry explained, the park service is working within existing law to solve the problem.
“We don’t change long standing park service policies,” she said. “Hunting is considered outside the range of reasonable alternatives.”
Detecting CWD in elk is not all that easy, either, she indicated. If the option to kill elk is adopted, carcasses will be tested for CWD presence, and if they find it, the carcasses will be destroyed, either through incineration or a process called “chemical digestion.” This would eliminate the CWD-causing prions completely, she said.
If CWD is not detected, the park could set up a meat donation program that would provide the elk meat to individuals for their consumption.
“We will test carcasses,” Watry said, “and remove animals we see exhibiting signs (of CWD).”
Preferred Method
Lethal reduction is the preferred alternative, according to the NPS. It would include the killing of between 200 and 700 elk to reduce the population to between 1,200 and 1,700 elk in four years, and follow that up with reduced killing levels of between 25 and 150 elk annually over the next 16 years. It could include use of wolves as a management tool.
Another alternative would rely on gradual lethal reduction by NPS staff and contract shooters. This includes killing 100 to 200 elk inside the park over the next 20 years.
A third option is the use of anti-fertility drugs to reduce the population, combined with killing 80 to 150 elk annually.
The fourth option would involve releasing gray wolves in the park under strict management to reduce the number of elk. Up to 100 elk might also be killed annually over the next 16 years under this plan.
A fifth option is to do nothing at all.
The first four options include some type of willow or aspen fencing and elk redistribution.
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