In response to a past lawsuit, the National Elk Refuge at Jackson, Wyoming has announced it will feed fewer elk, probably, therefore, reducing the size of the Jackson Hole Elk Herd. The plan is to also reduce the Jackson Hole bison herd by half, a good idea because, unlike Yellowstone Park bison, the Jackson bison are not controlled by conditions of winter severity and threaten to grow beyond all bounds expect for the availability of summer range.
Naturally, Sportsmen for Feeding and Whining (a.k.a. “Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife-WY”) didn’t like the plan. Conservationists said it didn’t go far enough to reducing the disease spreading nature of feeding elk and bison in the the winter.
Story in the Casper Star Tribune. By Whitney Royster. Note that the headline is a bit misleading.
The Jackson Hole Daily (edition of Jackson Hole News and Guide) has a more accurate heading and a slightly different take on the story. Refuge to cut herd. By Corey Hatch.
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Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University with specialties in natural resource politics, public opinion, interest groups, political parties, voting and elections. Aside from academic publications, he is author or co-author of three hiking/backpacking guides, and he is past President of the Western Watersheds Project.
