NPS gives 3 issues regarding hunting that make it unfavorable and led to the dismissal of hunting as an alternative. The 1st and 3rd points raised make reference to the negative impact of hunting on visitor safety, recreational opportunities and the overall visitor experience within RMNP.
So, my question(s) would be: what specific steps are the NPS planning on taking to minimize the negative impact of culling on those same issues? I see they're planning on closing some roads for a few hours in the early morning, but what else? Along that train of thought, here are more questions/thoughts I have:
- I have to assume that (for ease of disposal) most of the culling will be done fairly close to roads. To minimize the impact on visitors, are they considering time of year rather than just time of day to minimize impact on visitors? According to the NPS data (and common sense
) , November through April are the months with the lowest visitor totals by far. That (conveniently) is also the time females are pregnant, so it would make the most sense to cull some time in that range. However, that's also when elk are most likely to move out of the park to lower elevations, so exactly what is their plan? Are they focusing on females to reduce the number of future offspring, or will they select fairly equal numbers of male and female elk?
- Are they going to try to achieve some of the results of natural predators other than population reduction? I think I've read that studies in Yellowstone indicate that since wolves were introduced, elk have altered their behavior and are less likely to overbrowse vegetation in some areas, as they've learned that those areas are dangerous. So, in RMNP will they simply choose the easy targets out in the open, or will they actively seek out elk in the willows/aspens to try to drive them out of those areas or at least make them more wary and less likely to overbrowse those areas?
- Will they publicize the areas to be culled ahead of time and institute area closures? This would probably be safest, but would also give protestors the opportunity to organize and attempt to prevent culling from taking place in those areas on those days. If protestors show up, I could foresee some safety issues in terms of unknown numbers of them possibly running around, trying to move elk out of the area and putting themselves in danger by being in the line of fire. Maybe that's a bit far-fetched, but some people do take things to the extreme. How will they handle any protest activities?
- Also, assuming they publicize and institute temporary area closures, will do they anything more to ensure that people are not in that area at the time of culling? We all know that some people like to get up early and go hiking or take photos, and we all know some people ignore or don't notice area closure postings, so will NPS actively search the area for unwanted visitors, or just rely on signage and the skill of marksmen to make sure they only shoot elk and have zero stray bullets?
- If NPS chooses to not publicize these areas, what steps will they take to ensure visitor safety and a positive visitor experience?
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