Posted: Wednesday, October 12, 2005 12:00 am
JACKSON (AP) - A federal proposal for managing elk and bison on the National Elk Refuge and in Grand Teton National Park has the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission worried how it will affect state authority to manage wildlife.
The commission voted unanimously to send a comment letter expressing various concerns about the plan to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service. The two federal agencies are accepting public comment through Nov. 7.
John Emmerich, Game and Fish assistant wildlife division chief, told commissioners during a conference call Monday that state wildlife managers were concerned the plan does not clearly express Game and Fish's authority to manage wildlife on the refuge and in the national park.
Commissioner Kerry Powers concurred, saying he felt strongly that wildlife within the state belong to Wyoming residents and should be managed as such.
"Usurping this management authority from the state of Wyoming is of tremendous concern to me if some of these alternatives are selected," Powers said.
The draft proposal considers six alternatives for managing elk and bison. The alternatives range from halting feeding on the refuge to maintaining the status quo.
Emmerich said the state also is concerned about the plan's preferred alternative, which proposes feeding elk only in above-average winters, which are projected to occur five out of every 10 winters.
"The objective should be to do everything we can to reduce feeding and (to) try not to feed in winters in which (the weather) cooperates," Emmerich said.
He said wildlife managers need more flexibility to respond to unpredictable weather conditions than the proposed guideline would allow.
Emmerich also said Game and Fish does not believe the plan has enough flexibility for hunters to kill elk in Grand Teton park. The plan would reduce the number of elk that summer in the park from about 2,500 to between 1,300 and 1,600.
Given current limits on hunter access in the national park, it would be difficult to kill enough elk to reach the goals, Emmerich said. The draft plan puts too much emphasis on natural regulation within the park, he said.
"There needs to be more commitment within the (draft plan) to allow hunter access and to allow us to achieve those reductions," he said.
Reducing elk numbers in the park could help lower elk numbers on the adjoining refuge and reduce the demand for feeding on the refuge, according to refuge officials.
The draft plan seeks to reduce elk numbers on the refuge from a maximum of 7,500 to between 4,000 and 5,000 elk.
Refuge officials want to limit feeding because it artificially concentrates the ungulates on feed lines, which increases the potential for spreading diseases, such as brucellosis, among the herd.
NewsTracker
* Last we knew: Federal officials were taking public comment on a plan to reduce the number of elk in the National Elk Refuge and Grand Teton National Park.
* The latest: The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission expressed concerns over the proposal.
* What's next: Following the close of the comment period Nov. 7, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to make a final decision by late 2006.