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Conservationists oppose wintertime elk feeding.
3/11/02
The Associated Press
JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) - Several conservation groups say the state should abandon the practice of feeding elk during the winter at 23 locations.
The Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, Wyoming Wildlife Federation, Greater Yellowstone Coalition and Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative maintain that providing feed unnaturally concentrates elk, which in turn can cause catastrophic outbreaks of brucellosis, chronic wasting disease and other infections.
The groups hope to get their concerns heard by speaking up while a bison and elk management plan is being drafted for Jackson Hole.
"Wyoming is asleep at the wheel," said Scott Groene, Jackson representative for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. "We're not saying to shut the feedgrounds tonight, but we all know the problem."
Lloyd Dorsey, a representative of the Wyoming Wildlife Federation, said that because the state's estimated elk population is 106,000 and the goal population is 76,000, there is no need to keep funding the feedgrounds.
The feedgrounds help support some 33,800 elk at a cost of $1.67 million per year. The cost is $2.75 million per year including administration, monitoring and research.
Instead of maintaining the feedgrounds, the conservation groups are proposing a pilot program to stop feeding at one or all three state feedgrounds in the Gros Ventre River drainage.
Pam Lichtman, program director for the Conservation Alliance, said the area is ideal for such a test because viable winter habitat still exists nearby on public land.
Also, there are few private feeding operations in the area.
The groups contend that without the feedgrounds elk would rediscover their natural migration routes to winter ranges
"Elk are smart," Lichtman said. "But they've been short-stopped for a long time."
The groups' representatives said they know that allowing elk to return to relying upon their winter ranges will mean that some elk will starve to death, but they feel the herds' health would be better off in the long run.
"It may mean things that are hard for this community to swallow," said Carl Schneebeck, program associate for the Conservation Alliance.
Groene said the groups view the bison and elk plan as an opportunity to explore the full range of options regarding feedgrounds.
"We can either make a decision to ensure elk or maintain status quo and bury our heads in the sand and see if disease hits us," he said.
3/11/02
The Associated Press
JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) - Several conservation groups say the state should abandon the practice of feeding elk during the winter at 23 locations.
The Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, Wyoming Wildlife Federation, Greater Yellowstone Coalition and Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative maintain that providing feed unnaturally concentrates elk, which in turn can cause catastrophic outbreaks of brucellosis, chronic wasting disease and other infections.
The groups hope to get their concerns heard by speaking up while a bison and elk management plan is being drafted for Jackson Hole.
"Wyoming is asleep at the wheel," said Scott Groene, Jackson representative for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. "We're not saying to shut the feedgrounds tonight, but we all know the problem."
Lloyd Dorsey, a representative of the Wyoming Wildlife Federation, said that because the state's estimated elk population is 106,000 and the goal population is 76,000, there is no need to keep funding the feedgrounds.
The feedgrounds help support some 33,800 elk at a cost of $1.67 million per year. The cost is $2.75 million per year including administration, monitoring and research.
Instead of maintaining the feedgrounds, the conservation groups are proposing a pilot program to stop feeding at one or all three state feedgrounds in the Gros Ventre River drainage.
Pam Lichtman, program director for the Conservation Alliance, said the area is ideal for such a test because viable winter habitat still exists nearby on public land.
Also, there are few private feeding operations in the area.
The groups contend that without the feedgrounds elk would rediscover their natural migration routes to winter ranges
"Elk are smart," Lichtman said. "But they've been short-stopped for a long time."
The groups' representatives said they know that allowing elk to return to relying upon their winter ranges will mean that some elk will starve to death, but they feel the herds' health would be better off in the long run.
"It may mean things that are hard for this community to swallow," said Carl Schneebeck, program associate for the Conservation Alliance.
Groene said the groups view the bison and elk plan as an opportunity to explore the full range of options regarding feedgrounds.
"We can either make a decision to ensure elk or maintain status quo and bury our heads in the sand and see if disease hits us," he said.
