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Mar 26, 2008 8:57 pm US/Mountain
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Group Sues Feds Over Elk-Culling Plan
DENVER (AP) ―
An environmental group is suing the federal government because it says releasing wolves wasn't seriously considered as a solution to reducing the elk herd in Rocky Mountain National Park.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in Denver by WildEarth Guardians, with help from the University of Denver law school, names the National Park Service.
The lawsuit claims the agencies ignored scientific evidence showing that returning wolves to Yellowstone National Park and other areas has improved the ecosystem by reducing elk and overgrazing of vegetation.
"Wolves there have solved the same problem that they're trying to solve here in Rocky Mountain National Park, and they've solved it permanently," Rob Edward with WildEarth Guardians said.
The plan approved for culling the elk herd in Rocky Mountain National Park northwest of Denver calls for sharpshooters to kill elk over 20 years. Officials said the elk are overgrazing, damaging vegetation and habitat for other species.
"This was not a wolf reintroduction plan, so all of the different tools we looked at were to meet the objectives of an elk and vegetation management plan," Kyle Patterson with Rocky Mountain National Park said.
The park service said that they did look seriously at wolves, but this is an elk plan, not a wolf plan.
"We absolutely looked at a self sustaining wolf population as an alternative," Patterson said.
Edward disagrees.
"The only thing that they seriously considered was the restoration of a few wolves that would be sterilized and controlled to the park boundary. So that's not a natural situation," Edward said.
Patterson said there's no guarantee wolves would stay in the park where they're needed, and the Colorado Wildlife Commission, which has wildlife authority for public land around the park, doesn't support reintroducing wolves in Colorado.
"Without that regional support from other federal, state, and local agencies, it is not feasible for a wolf population to be reintroduced to this area," Patterson said.
Researchers at Rocky Mountain National Park said the overpopulation of elk is damaging stands of aspen and willows which other birds and animals depend on for their habitat.
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)