A Multipronged Tussle Over the Fate of Herds Living in an Island Park

[XemaSab]

There are hunters who dream about places like this.

The game — unusually large Kaibab deer, Roosevelt elk that lope like thoroughbreds along the wind-scoured ridgelines — are trophy quality. All it takes to bag one is a 30-mile trip across the Santa Barbara Channel, a rifle, good aim, a minimum fee of about $8,000 and the existing agreement by the National Park Service to close 45,000 acres of parkland to the public, August through December.

Close a public park to make way for a private hunt? That is not the Park Service’s preference. When it acquired Santa Rosa Island at the time the Channel Islands National Park was formed in 1986, it accepted a 25-year transition period during which the hunting would continue. It wants the animals off the island. The 1,150 deer and elk, park officials say, compromise the native ecosystem — by munching on seedlings of the rare island oaks, for instance.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/09/us/09hunt.html?ref=us

[XemaSab]

1. Morning kick!

:bounce:

[TX-RAT]

2. It would help, if your link didn't require registration.

[XemaSab]

5. It's free registration

:shrug:

[alarimer]

3. They need to remove non-native species

by any means necessary. Hunting would be better than just wholesale slaughter, at least they get some use of the animal.

Hunting is a very important aspect of wildlife management. Places where hunting is not allowed or is frowned upon are OVERRUN with deer that are starving, a fate worse than being hunted. All of this is the fault of humans. There are too many of us everywhere.

There is hunting in many parks. The managers use it to help manage populations, especially in the absence of natural predators. Closing them to the public when hunting is occurring is important for safety reasons. I have no problem with hunting, none whatsoever, even in a public park. I do have an issue with some hunters I have met who are jackasses, but that's another story.

[semillama]

4. The problem, as I've heard it, is not so much the hunting

but that hunting groups want it to be sustained. So the elk and whatnot would stay on the islands for the hunting pleasure of those with $8,000 to drop. Not the best solution. They really just need to go in and destroy all the invasive species. Hunting until they are gone, or do a total herd cull. Then maybe we can get these islands back into shape. It sounds cruel, but that's what's worked on other islands and it's what's needed here.

[XemaSab]

6. They're currently hunting out all the pigs on the islands

And it's wholesale slaughter done by a professional outfit out of Australia.

Either it's going to be a managed recreational hunt or a slaughter, and I'm leaning towards the latter as the best option for the health of the landscape.