# TRNP Elk Management?



## Bob Kellam (Apr 8, 2004)

THEODORE ROOSEVELT NATIONAL PARK: Elk management remains an issue

Associated Press

BEACH, N.D. - The National Park Service is still working on ways to manage the elk population at Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and Sentinel Butte, N.D., rancher Jeff Schieffer says a solution can't come soon enough.

Schieffer said he is growing tired of the park's elk running amok on his land, destroying the fences that keep his cattle contained.

"I am repairing my fences year around," he said. "The elk go back and forth through the fences, and they go through the same places all the time. You think you have your cows where you want them, but they're not there."

The park's elk population is at a record high. Before the 2005 calving season, there were about 600 of the animals in the park's south unit.

Park Superintendent Valerie Naylor said the Park Service is working on various management alternatives that might be released next spring.

Schieffer said the elk that roam beyond the park's borders wreak havoc not only on his fences, but also his pastures.

"When we had a drought I sold 160 cows because I didn't have grass, but we still had 30 head of elk eating on our place," he said.

The park has discontinued its practice of moving some elk to other states, because of the threat of chronic wasting disease. The disease is fatal to deer and elk. It has not been found in North Dakota, but it has surfaced in several other states.

Elk hunting also is not allowed within the park. But when the animals leave, "they are our baby," said Greg Link, assistant wildlife chief with the state Game and Fish Department.

"We are utilizing our hunting seasons to keep those elk coming out in check," he said. "But they get smart and run back in the park where they are protected."

Game and Fish sold 201 elk licenses in North Dakota this year, director Dean Hildebrand said. Schieffer said he would like to see more cow and calf tags sold.

"People are trying to shoot the big bulls," he said. "What good is it to shoot one or two bulls when there is 30 head of cows and calves there all of the time?"


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## sotaman (Apr 6, 2004)

Isn't this a national problem because of the parks status and they never wrote in the by laws to allow for hunting as a managment tool??


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## Bob Kellam (Apr 8, 2004)

Sota

Correct, quite a few of us from this site attended the public meeting on TRNP elk management. They are still determining a soultion to the problem as the Park is way over-populated with elk and the herd needs to be thinned.

Bob


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## gandergrinder (Mar 10, 2002)

Capture desired number of elk in park to control population. Slaughter elk in processing place like cattle. Give to food shelters or sell to people who would like processed elk. Use money for research.

Seems simple enough.

Except animal rights people go nuts.


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## Scraper (Apr 1, 2002)

I think that you are right on GG, but as you know NEPA has their hands tied from doing anything until the process is done.

I would venture to guess that what you are saying there would be a proposed action.


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## Trapper62 (Mar 3, 2003)

Talk to landowners in the turtle Mountains, we already have elk and they all wish that they could have a chance to shoot one.

Transplant a 100 up here and then give out 100 tags. Sure wouldn't get them all but I know a lot of people would have fun trying!


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## Bob Kellam (Apr 8, 2004)

Elk population ballooning
By John Odermann, The Forum
Published Tuesday, December 27, 2005

John Weinand would pay $300, even $400 for a license to shoot an elk in North Dakota. And he isn't alone.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota has plenty of elk to hunt. With a population of close to 750, park officials must find an acceptable way to reduce the elk herd to about 350, leaving about 400 excess animals.

Weinand, an avid hunter from Hazen, and others agree that a hunt in or out of the park is the best solution to the problem.

"There are no natural predators who are going to take them out except the two legged ones," Weinand said. "There are obviously enough people around here that are interested in hunting them."

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation regional field director Rod Gilmore agrees, "As a hunter, I would like to see us have some opportunity to access this resource &#8230; but, with a designation as a national park it really complicates their ability to manage their herd."

The complications that Gilmore speaks of are somewhat difficult to overcome.

"It would take an act of Congress and a change of the law," park superintendent Valerie Naylor said. "We need to consider all the options that we have before a decision is made."

In 1894, Congress passed a law prohibiting hunting in national parks.

Legislation to change the law could mean the park change to another designation, such as a national preserve or recreation area, losing its national park status.

Nevertheless, Gilmore would like to see lobbying of North Dakota's congressional delegation by the state's sportsmen to see what can be done.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said the delegation is waiting for the park's recommendation. "It's important that we hear from them before we decide what to do."

The State Game and Fish Department, which is working with the park in developing a management plan for the elk, feels hunting should be a viable option.

Retiring director Dean Hildebrand believes there should be a management action where the animals could be used as food. "They don't feel it is an option, I feel it may be an option." Hildebrand said. "I think you need to have it in the toolbox as a possible management action."

One option brought up at public meetings held by the park was slowly hazing the herd from the park through game crossings in the fence.

"That's not really a practical thing," Hildebrand said. "The ranchers are having a hard enough time &#8230; I don't think it would be a positive to just open up holes in the fences."

But they may not have to open holes in the fence.

In the autumn of 2002, a bowhunter in Saco, Mont., about 200 miles from the park, killed a 2½-year-old bull elk, which had been tagged in the park.

Mark Golberg, mayor of Medora, N.D., and a rancher who owns land near the park, agrees with Hildebrand.

"Everyone keeps forgetting about the how this affects the landowners," Golberg said. "If we have a hard winter, those elk will be out in the haystacks and it's hard enough to get hay for your own cows, let alone the elk."

Elk range in size from 500 to 1,200 pounds and consume large amounts of food, inclukding hay.

Golberg believes that before a final decision is made the landowners need to be taken into consideration.

He suggests a system where depredation costs would be paid to landowners, either monetary or with elk licenses, which the landowners could sell to make up for their losses.

"It's important that they listen to what everyone has to say and take into consideration how everyone is affected," Golberg said.

Chronic wasting disease is the biggest obstacle in managing the herd, even though it has never been found in North Dakota.

The disease, which affects the brain and nervous system of deer and elk, has been found in the three states and two Canadian provinces that neighbor North Dakota, so it may be just a matter of time, park wildlife biologist Mike Oehler said.

"You just don't move livestock in and out like you used to," Oehler said.

"Just because you haven't found it yet doesn't mean it isn't here."

States have reacted to the disease by instituting a moratorium on out-of-state livestock, which could be infected.

"We were going to have a roundup in the fall of 2004," said Bruce Kaye, the chief of interpretation in the park. "But because of CWD we couldn't &#8230; park policy dictates that we have to be 99 percent sure that less than 1 percent of the herd is infected."

Hildebrand believes continued public input is the key to developing a plan that everyone can live with.

"We hope that they have a series of public hearings throughout the state," he said. "Everything is possible, but it will take a tremendous amount of cooperation."

Whatever the National Park Service decides, Naylor said the final result could establish precedent and set the table for future wildlife management plans.

Park managers hope to have a plan drafted by this summer for comment and review.

"The elk issue at Theodore Roosevelt National Park is a complex issue," Naylor said. "The recent newsletter and news story have only touched the surface, and we will continue to look at all the options."


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## Osprey (Jul 6, 2004)

Knowing how lots on this site feel about guides I can imagine the response I'll get, but here goes...

What if NDG&F gave the neighboring ranchers landowner tags that they could transfer to anyone (res or non-res) they wanted? Not real knowledgable about ranching profits, but if they could sell tags or hunts for a few thousand each (we all know how high good guided elk hunts go for, up to 10 grand or more in good spots) there'd be incentive to take down the fences, get rid of some cattle and manage more land for the elk. Seems like it would help make more and better habitat both in and out of the park, help the health of the elk herd, help out the ranchers and be a more natural use for the land. To give locals a shot at the elk require that 10% of the tags be issued by lottery for residents at normal prices, with garaunteed no-fee access, for ranches accepting the landowner tags. Similar programs have worked well in other states.


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