Elk relocation efforts continue despite several setbacks

N.S. NOKKENTVED, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published Friday, March 15, 2002

PORTER -- Helicopter pilots and sharpshooters again pursued elk along the Chehalis River Thursday in an effort to rebuild the Green River elk herd.

With the help of nearly 100 volunteers, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife captured 20 elk and moved them to the upper Green River watershed Thursday in addition to 26 that were moved Saturday.

"We want to move 100 animals," said Jack Smith, Region 6 wildlife manager.

But the relocation effort has not gone without a hitch. Some property owners say they weren't notified of the operation, and so far five elk have died as a result of the capture efforts.

The first R. Phyllis Fox -- who lives on 17 acres along South Bank Road -- heard of Saturday's operation was the clatter of helicopter blades outside her kitchen window during breakfast.

"If it had been open, I could have reached out and touched the pontoons," she said. She was upset that she and her husband, Theo, hadn't been notified.

But Smith said a Fish and Wildlife official had told her husband of the operation. He agreed that not all neighbors were notified and the department is working on ways to let all property owners know of future operations.

"We haven't figured out a fool-proof way to contact everybody," Smith said.

A department officials drove along the road in the area and stopped at homes along the way during the week before the operation began. And officials are discussing ways to contact more property owners to avoid the problems encountered Saturday, department spokesman Craig Bartlett said.

"It's hard to tell where the elk are going to be," he said.

The elk trapping project began Saturday, when 27 elk were captured along the Chehalis River. One of those died. In addition to the 20 captured Thursday, four died as a result of the capture effort, Bartlett said.

The department hopes to rebuild the population enough to allow hunting once again in the Green River game management unit. The herd declined because of over-hunting in the early to mid 1990s. When hunting was halted in 1997 officials the herd had declined to about 170 animals.

But it hasn't recovered. The causes include cougar predation and habitat losses to suburban sprawl and other reasons.

Officials expect ongoing habitat improvement projects and the relocation effort will help rebuild the herd.

The state has an agreement with Muckleshoot Tribe that hunting would not resume until herd reaches at least 350. The target population for the unit is 500 elk, Bartlett said. Biologists expect that under the best circumstances that would take about two years.

N.S. Nokkentved covers the outdoors for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5445 and at nnokkent@olympia.gannett.com.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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