Elk Reduction Plan Offered

Elk Reduction Plan Offered 

Bismarck Tribune
By RICHARD HINTON 

If the state's position is followed, hunters who have met a variety of state and federal requirements would be eligible to receive a permit to remove elk from Theodore Roosevelt National Park between November and February.

"We think it's a reasonable option to be looked at and evaluated. That's all we've ever wanted since the process started three years ago," North Dakota Game and Fish Department director Terry Steinwand said Monday.

Steinwand outlined how certified volunteers would be used to reduce elk population within the national park in western North Dakota in a Sept. 12 letter that Steinwand sent to the National Park Service.

Steinwand defined a certified volunteer as someone who has passed an approved hunter education course, is legally eligible to obtain the necessary North Dakota license or permit to take or possess big game and participates in a specialized training course designed by park and NDGFD personnel. Once approved, a certified volunteer could receive a permit to remove an elk from the park.

Certified volunteers would remove elk by using high-powered rifles from November through February, a time that coincides with state hunting seasons outside the park and a time when park visitation is low. Certified volunteers would remove the carcasses as per NPS policy, process the meat themselves and either keep it or donate it to a food pantry.

The majority of the state's sporting community is behind NDGFD's position, Steinwand said.

"It's not 100 percent, but the vast majority think it's reasonable and want the opportunity," he said.

Once the initial elk population goal for the park is achieved, volunteers also would participate in additional removal action as needed to maintain the desired elk population.

The letter was sent to NPS Director Mary Bomar.

NDGFD has insisted that the park service's Environmental Impact Statement include using certified volunteers as an alternative for reducing elk numbers within the park's south unit.

The EIS is scheduled for public presentation in December.

NDGFD withdrew its support for the elk-reduction process earlier this year when certified volunteers were taken off of the table, but it returned to the discussion after a meeting between Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne and North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven that supported an evaluation of qualified volunteers to help reduce the park's growing elk population.

"Now we sit back and wait to hear from the Park Service," Steinwand said.

(Reach outdoor writer Richard Hinton at 250-8256 or richard.hinton@;bismarcktribune.com.)