Sharpshooters using silencers will kill as many 200 elk a year in Rocky Mountain National Park as part of a new population-management program unveiled today.
The lethal reductions, along with fencing and “aversive techniques” such as moving herds with dogs and blank ammunition, are part of a $6 million, 20-year plan to bring down the unnaturally high number of elk in the park and restore native plants.
“In the absence of the natural predators here, we have to replicate what they would do for us,” said Superintendent Vaughn Baker. “We are mandated to maintain natural process here in Rocky, and under current conditions, we’re not doing that. And we need to step in, I guess, and help make that happen.”
Hunting was never allowed in the park, which was established in 1915. In 1929, Congress prohibited hunting within the park boundary.
Culling, by agency staff, took place in the park from 1945 to 1968.
The highly visible elk population, estimated to reach more than 3,100 animals at times, is one of the park’s main attractions for tourists, but the herds tend to remain in winter range throughout the year and take a heavy toll on the native willows and forbs.
The final plan, four years in the works, is intended to level the population at 1,600 to 2,100 animals, said biologist Therese Johnson, and culling typically will be performed early in the morning in the winter.
“One of our goals in the plan is to maintain the ‘viewability’ of the elk,” she said. “We expect there will be some behavior changes in the elk, but we still expect high numbers.”
Hunters sanctioned by the National Park Service will perform the culling, and the meat will be distributed to Indian tribes and nonprofit organizations after it has been tested for chronic-wasting disease.
Steve Lipsher: 970-513-9495 or firstname.lastname@example.org