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Olympic National Park has released a mountain goat management plan:
The mountain goats at Olympic National Park in Washington have worn out their their welcome and park officials are moving ahead with plans to get rid of them. On Monday the National Park Service released a mountain goat management plan, laying out three methods of dealing with the population, which park officials say not only is damaging the environment but is dangerous to people.
One method is killing the animals with shotguns or high-powered rifles. The other is relocating them. And the last option is a combination of the two. That is the preferred plan but would likely take years, said Louise Johnson, the park's chief of resources management.
First helicopters would capture the goats in drop nets. Next a crew would tranquilize the animals, putting them in slings under the helicopter, which would carry them to a staging area. From there, they would be placed in trucks and driven hours to their natural habitat in the North Cascade Mountains. Some of the goats — roughly half — Johnson estimates, would have to be killed because crews wouldn't be able to access them in remote, rugged terrain.
There are an estimated 600 mountain goats in the park today and the population is growing by about 8 percent a year, Johnson said.
(Score: 4, Informative) by ese002 on Wednesday July 26 2017, @12:06AM (1 child)
As explained in this more detailed article [outdoor-society.com], mountain goats were introduced to the region in 1925. So, there is some justification controlling their numbers. Still, they are native to North America and their native range is not that far away.
(Score: 5, Informative) by frojack on Wednesday July 26 2017, @01:07AM
And even more data here https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2011/1313/pdf/ofr20111313.pdf [usgs.gov]
The area was taken over by the Federal Government for a National Park in 1994.
The first thing the feds did was shut down hunting, and thereby remove any check on the Goat population.
In this document the NPS documented prior management plans, including capture and removal via a variety of means.
The population reduction was much better than expected (however they were looking for eradication even at that time, and weren't much impressed with 60% reduction).
During 1981-89, under provisions of the two environmental assessments, the National Park Service removed 407 goats from the park (Cost in 1980s dollars: $162,800). During that same period 111 Goats were hunted (Archery only) on adjacent state lands, for a net profit to the state, or at least break even on the cost of selling licenses).
About 450 mountain goats are harvested each year in Alaska, with a tiny fraction of Washington's population, and a non-existent road system.
In the 1960s hunters took up to 400 goats per year in Washington [alaska.gov], mostly in the Cascades.
That brought the population down in the Cascades to levels that could be easily controlled. (Bag limits, and season closures). Alaska uses a similar area by area management system .And it cost nothing. With even minimum to moderate hunting pressure, the population issue for Wildlife Managers flips 180 degrees to one of management to maintain a sustainable population, as opposed to eradication.
Goat hunting is for the young and fit. Still the demand is there, and the meat is good.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.