[Vision2020] Stop the elk farming!

[Moscow Cares]

Courtesy of today's (March 6, 2016) Spokesman-Review with special thanks to Brett Haverstick.

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Stop the elk farming

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game, in conjunction with the USDA Wildlife Services, despicably gunned down 20 wolves over the Clearwater National Forest in north-central Idaho earlier this month. Helicopter gunning of wolves, or any other species, should not be a “tool in the toolbox” in 21st-century wildlife management. It’s barbaric, immoral, expensive and is not grounded in science.

The Lolo Zone of the Clearwater National Forest provides the best habitat for large carnivores in the Lower 48. The rugged slopes and vast roadless terrain of the North Fork Clearwater and the Upper Lochsa River drainage provide crucial habitat for gray wolves, Canada lynx, wolverines, fishers and historically grizzly bears.

Stand-replacing wildfires and the eradication of predators in the 20th century created good habitat for elk in the Lolo Zone. Elk numbers reached 16,000 in the 1980s. Those numbers have since declined for two main reasons: Harsh winters in the 1990s killed thousands of elk, and the complete suppression of fires over the past century has led to forest succession and a change in forest type or habitat.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is a laughingstock and lacks credibility. Stop the elk farming and keep Idaho wild.

Brett Haverstick

Moscow

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Here is a simple suggestion for Idaho's Department of Fish and Game . . .

"GIVE A DAMN!"

Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
http://www.MoscowCares.com
  
Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
  
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