From the AP:
Colorado’s top wildlife officer said today he is optimistic that licensed hunters, rather than contractors firing guns with silencers, will be used to thin the elk herd that is overgrazing and damaging habitat in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Park officials want to reduce the herd to about 1,700 from an estimated 3,000. The Colorado Wildlife Commission thinks licensed hunters should cull the herd because it will cost less and the elk will be used. The park’s proposal would cost about $18 million over 20 years.
Park officials are expected to release their final management plan in May or June, when the public would have another chance to weigh in. Advocates of restoring wolves to Colorado say the problem could be solved by releasing wolves in the park.
3 comments:
Selling licenses to recreational hunters that will make use of the meat and reduce the cost of the cull makes absolute sense.
Returning wolves to Colorado is a worthy goal (I for one think they never fully left) but I'm not so sure the human population is ready. It's going to take a lot more education.
Imagine a wolf spotted on the slopes of Loveland. How many people might freak out? What impact might something like that have on skier visits? There are a lot of questions people will demand be answered first.
I say elk hunters with crossbows.
"Run you beautiful beast."
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