More goats.

[Katmai Guy]

That seems like a ton of goats I'm glad they're not all to be killed. Wonder how long before the ones they miss repopulate the park.

It should/better open up more permits for areas that have previously been closed.

[X-Force]

Feds property, feds rules. Hopefully, the goats outside on are safe unless they wander into the park.

The goats outside the park will be captured and moved next year. According to the bio.


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Crap!

Even the goats out side of the park are on federal land.

[Katmai Guy]

My bad, didn't even think of that.  Got hung up thinking state since they are managed by the state. 

[X-Force]

The OP goat population is growing at 8% a year and they are assuming 750 goats are on the peninsula this fall.

[jackelope]

The OP goat population is growing at 8% a year and they are assuming 750 goats are on the peninsula this fall.

I think they're hoping to be able to move 350 of them is where the numbers are coming from. @Bushcraft might be able to clarify.

I read something the other day and now I can't find it, but it said the OP goat herd makes up something like 15 or 20% of the entire goat population of the lower 48. I can't remember the number exactly, but it was big.

[X-Force]

WDFW – Starting today, a coalition of state and federal agencies, with support from local tribes, will begin translocating mountain goats from Olympic National Park to the northern Cascade Mountains to meet wildlife management goals in both areas.

This effort to translocate mountain goats from the Olympic Peninsula is a partnership between the National Park Service (NPS), the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW), and the USDA Forest Service (USFS) to re-establish and assist in connecting depleted populations of mountain goats in the Washington Cascades.

Area tribes lending support to the translocation plan in the Cascades include the Lummi, Muckleshoot, Sauk-Suiattle, Stillaguamish, Suquamish, Swinomish, Tulalip, and Upper Skagit tribes.

In May, the NPS released the final Mountain Goat Management Plan which outlines the effort to remove the estimated 725 mountain goats on the Olympic Peninsula. Both the plan and the associated environmental impact statement were finalized after an extensive public review process which began in 2014.

This month’s two-week effort to move mountain goats to native habitat in the northern Cascades is the first translocation operation since the release of the final Mountain Goat Management Plan. Two additional two-week periods are planned for next year. Mountain goats were introduced to the Olympics in the 1920s.

“Mountain goat relocation will allow these animals to reoccupy historical range areas in the Cascades and increase population viability,” said Jesse Plumage, USFS Wildlife Biologist.

While some mountain goat populations in the north Cascades have recovered since the 1990s, the species is still absent from many areas of its historic range.

Aerial capture operations will be conducted through a contract with a private company that specializes in the capture and transport of wild animals. The helicopter crew will use tranquilizer darts and net guns to capture mountain goats and transport them in specially made slings to the staging area on Hurricane Hill Road beyond the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center in Olympic National Park. The staging area will be closed to public access.

The animals will be examined by veterinarians before WDFW wildlife managers transport them overnight to staging areas in the north Cascades for release the following day.

During this first round, WDFW will only translocate goats from the park to non-wilderness release sites in the Cascades. There will be no closures for release operations in the national forests in 2018. To maximize success, goats will be brought directly to alpine habitats that have been selected for appropriate characteristics. To access these areas, goats will be airlifted in their crates by helicopter.

WDFW plans to release the mountain goats at five selected sites in the Cascades this month. Two release areas are near mountain peaks south of the town of Darrington, on the Darrington District of the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest (MBS). The others are near Mt. Index, on the Skykomish Ranger District of the MBS, Tower Peak in the Methow area of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, and the headwaters of the Cedar River Drainage, which is land owned by Seattle Public Utilities.

“The translocation effort will relieve issues with non-native mountain goats in the Olympics while bolstering depleted herds in the northern Cascades,” said Olympic National Park Superintendent Sarah Creachbaum. “Mountain goats cause significant impacts to the park ecosystem as well as public safety concerns.”

Mountain goats follow and approach hikers because they are attracted to the salt from their sweat, urine, and food. That behavior is less likely in the north Cascades where visitors are more widely distributed than those at Olympic National Park, said Rich Harris, a WDFW wildlife manager who specializes in mountain goats.

“In addition, the north Cascades has an abundance of natural salt licks, while the Olympic Peninsula has virtually none,” Harris said. “Natural salt licks greatly reduce mountain goats’ attraction to people.”

For more information about mountain goats in Washington state, see WDFW’s website at https://wdfw.wa.gov/living/mountain_goats.html.
https://www.kxro.com/agencies-plan-to-start-translocating-mountain-goats-from-the-olympics-today/

[yakimanoob]

Cool.  Thanks for the crash course on this situation, all 

Personally, I wish they would have just issued 750 any goat permits for the OP    But yeah yeah yeah, population support for the North Cascades...  I guess that's OK too.

[csaaphill]

Yeah good read as to why where, and how thanks.
but they should allow some hunting in the Olympics. 

[jackelope]

Yeah good read as to why where, and how thanks.
but they should allow some hunting in the Olympics. 

They do. Just not in the National Park.

[Axle]

Would be very nice to see some pictures of all this in progress.

[Russ McDonald]

Would be very nice to see some pictures of all this in progress.

Go to King 5, Q13 all yhe news channels have been interviewing and showing video.  If your on Facebook got to the Mt Baker/Snoqualmie NF page they have videos and WDFW has videos on their Facebook page.

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[CedarPants]

Not to thread jack here - but I did ask WDFW if they have the resources to translocate 350 goats from the peninsula to the Cascades, then surely they have the resources to translocate 25 - 35 wolves from eastern to western Washington to meet recovery objectives .... and why aren't they doing so.

Crickets was the response I received.

[SkookumHntr]

I asked the same question and got the same response

[MonstroMuley]

It should/better open up more permits for areas that have previously been closed.

... (GMU 231) Gardner Goats may reopen?     

[Ghost Hunter]

I wanted to volunteer to be a driver, think it wouldve been cool.

That's a good scouting technique.