Hey InsideWDFW….
First off, I disagree that there are 12,000 elk in the Mt. Saint Helens area. There may be 12000 in what they consider the Mt. Saint Helens herd which extends to Glenwood WA.
My 50% estimation in the Mt. Saint Helens area came from the dead elk found in the 520, 524, 556, 550, 554, 560 and 572 areas. I witnessed over 1200 dead elk, many while I participated in the mortality count at the Loo-Wit Wildlife refuge.
Yes, we all know what happed on 5/18/1980. I believe Mr. Smith has covered these points in his post and they don’t need to be repeated again..
I never claimed the WDFW had an abundance of money. With a 249 million dollar budget that has 85 percent going to pay employees, I can see that there is little left over to serve the wildlife correctly.
There are many volunteer groups ready to help with these projects in a minutes notice.
I also never blamed that the WDFW for the proposal outlawing the feeding of animals.
Here is what I actually said:
Legislators of the State of Washington I would like to voice my concern’s over House Bill 1885 relating to feeding wildlife. My concern with this Bill isn’t with clawed animals, it’s with the Elk and deer. I think this part of the Bill should be eliminated, I think it’s our responsibility to take care of this natural recourse, to let them starve is not only neglect, but animal cruelty. This problem is our fault and starts with our states inability to manage rural lands, by building subdivisions in the wintering areas for our wildlife. The problem started with lawsuits over logging, and timber companies spraying timber lands with harmful chemicals to increase the growth of the trees and eliminate competing plant life. This has left our wildlife with little or no habitat and caused signs of sickness to these animals in our state. The permitted over pursuit of these animals by the WDFW has left them in poor body condition. This all points to Disease our WDFW doesn’t talk about that’s called, Necrotic Stomatitis also called Fusobacterium Necrophorum it was first discovered in our wildlife in the Olympic Peninsula in 1945. It produces hoof rot, calf diphtheria, oral cavity infections and can affect joints and organs. As a conservationist, hunter and outdoorsman it has been my moral responsibility to help these animals survive the problems we have created. Like all wildlife elk and deer need securities from their predators their chief one happens to be us. Part of keeping good healthy herds in our state, is to make sure they have ample secure habitat with large blocks of land without disturbance. We need a detailed study from the WDFW on these deer and elk before they are gone. Volunteer groups such as mine, MT SAINT HELEN’S RESCUE have raised thousands of dollars and should be able to continue to do so to help our wildlife in need. I’m not advocating feeding wild animals, but until we figure out what’s wrong, I don’t think it will hurt. If we continue to allow the destruction of habitat security, on our state and national forest lands, we are only hurting ourselves because if your not part of the solution your part of the problem. Please take my comments into consideration before making your final decision.
Keeping our public lands public
