Photo Courtesy Minnesota Wolf Project - 1994 |
OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK––Norm
Dicks (D-Washington) has killed National Park Service efforts to exterminate
supposedly non-native mountain goats in Olympic National Park.
"In recent months, the park's plan to shoot the goats drew the ire of
so many of Dicks' West Sound constituents," wrote Seattle Times
outdoor columnist Ron Judd, "that he launched a mini-investigation. His
finding: The park was, at best, being disingenuous about alleged 'damage' from
goats. At worst, it was lying. Dicks, who says he is supported by the rest of
Washington's delegation, recently called park officials to his office and made a
subtle suggestion: Bag the goat shoot, or I'll bag it for you."
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Investigation by American
Zoo Association conservation and science director Michael Hutchins indicates
that the goats may not have lived in the Olympic mountains until translocated
from the Cascades for hunting purposes, possibly on several occasions, within
the past 120 years. But they haven't overpopulated, Dicks' experts believe, and
won't if their own plan to reintroduce wolves to Olympic National Park succeeds.
Fifty to 100 wolves would be airlifted to the park from Alaska or Canada. The
plan is apparently endorsed by Olympic National Park supervisor David Morris,
Defenders of Wildlife, and Paul Joslin of the Whales & Wolves Conservation
Society in Des Moines, Washington.
Joslin told ANIMAL PEOPLE that
before the 1995 Yellowstone wolf reintroduction, he favored Olympic National
Park as site for a first experiment with wolf reintroduction, as public opinion
in the vicinity is more favorable and the chances of wolves being shot for
harassing livestock are less, with only one nearby cattle ranch. |