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Hunters To Help With Elk Culling In RMNP
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Mike Anderson /CBS
Park Service said volunteer hunters, who will become authorized
agents of the park, will be allowed to help thin the herd with rifles. If and
when they need additional help, they'll recruit volunteers to work alongside the
rangers in shooting the elk.
The plan involves much less killing each year than originally proposed, which was about 100 elk each year, up to a maximum of 200.
Starting this winter, researchers will also give a contraceptive to about 60 elk to study the option of elk birth control.
The 20-year cost estimate for the program has dropped from $16 million down to $6 million.
Another part of the effort will be to scare elk away from the aspen and willows that have been most damaged by overgrazing. The park will also begin installing $2 million worth of fence around damaged aspen and willows.
For the elk that are killed, the plan is to save the meat.
"To the degree possible, it is our intent and desire to distribute the meat to eligible recipients." Park Superintendent Vaughn Baker said. "One of the things that complicates or world here is the fact that this herd is in the Chronic Wasting Disease area, so we have to be mindful of that from a public health standpoint."
In a teleconference, park officials said the meat will go to non-profits and to Native American tribes.
Culling the herd isn't set to begin until next winter.
Next month, the park will start installing the fencing around the willows and aspen.
(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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