DORGAN SAYS INTERIOR DEPARTMENT REVIEW SHOWS USING PRIVATE HUNTERS TO CULL ELK IS PERMISSIBLE

Senator says using volunteer hunters is the best option

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

CONTACT: Justin Kitsch
or  Brenden Timpe
PHONE: 202-224-2551

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) said Wednesday that an environmental impact statement released today helps clear the way for the use of volunteer hunters to thin the elk herd in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Dorgan said the National Park Service should use qualified volunteers to do the job rather than waste taxpayer money by hiring professional sharpshooters to kill the elk and using helicopters to transport the carcasses.

The environmental impact statement by the U.S. Department of Interior reviews a number of options to thin the park’s elk herd, which has grown too large and threatens to damage the park’s habitat. The report does not recommend an option, but makes clear that the use of qualified volunteer hunters is an acceptable method.

Dorgan has been pushing for nearly two years to use qualified volunteers for the job – ever since Park Service officials revealed that they were considering hiring sharpshooters to cull the elk, using helicopters to transport the carcasses, and sticking taxpayers with a bill of several million dollars.

Park Service officials in North Dakota originally suggested they could not use volunteers to thin the elk herd at Theodore Roosevelt National Park, despite a report by the Congressional Research Service – and the acknowledgement of Park Service officials in Colorado – that volunteers could be used. After Dorgan introduced legislation to make clear that the National Park Service can use volunteers at Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Administration officials agreed to consider the option.

“It’s clear that we must do something to reduce the population of elk at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The question is, what is the best way to do that while protecting the taxpayer?” Dorgan said. “It is unbelievable to me that the National Park Service would even consider saddling taxpayers with a huge bill to hire federal sharpshooters to cull the elk herd and ignore the opportunity to use qualified North Dakota hunters free of charge.

“North Dakota has a strong and vibrant community of sportsmen. Many of them would jump at the chance to volunteer to help, and this report makes clear there is nothing to prevent the National Park Service from doing so. I’m going to keep pushing them to choose that option because it’s best for our national park and best for our taxpayers.”

Dorgan said the National Park Service is also considering an option in which some of the elk would be moved outside the park, providing another potential opportunity for North Dakota hunters to play a role in thinning the herd.

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