Regarding the May 25 article, “Hunters get permit to shoot elk”:
“Oh, happy day! We finally get to shoot some more elk! We’ve waited 12 long years for this wonderful development!” Such is the joy of hunters who will get to kill some of the struggling Nooksack Elk Herd this September.
“The herd has recovered to such a degree that it’s no problem!” say state and tribal wildlife “experts.”
Recovered? The article stated that the herd dropped from 1,700 to 350 elk. Then some people decided to spend a whole lot of somebody’s money (I sure hope it wasn’t any of my taxpayer money) to seize 100 elk from the “overabundant” Mount St. Helens herd and transport them to the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. So now, the Nooksack Herd has “recovered” to an estimated 450 individuals. This does not constitute “recovery.” In fact, there are shades of “canned hunting” here. But, apparently it’s OK now to go and kill 30 of them.
Did it occur to anyone that they could just take their hunting fun to the Mount St. Helens area, get their elk, and leave the Nooksack herd to a true recovery? This wildlife “management” is nothing more than wildlife shuffling for hunters’ pleasure.
And what was it like for the 100 transported elk to be captured by humans, herded into trucks in a state of panic, and released into an unfamiliar area where each individual now has to undergo the rigors and battles of finding their status in a new herd? This transport was an assault on the dignity of these wild creatures.
State and tribal leaders put this wonderful plan together and are ready for the celebration. It’s a given that the white man has utterly lost touch with respect for wildness. In this situation, the Native American comes out looking equally clueless.
Natalie Houghtaling
Brier
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
