Public Comments Sought on Draft Elk Population Control Hunt Plan
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking public comments through December 30, 2011, on an Elk Population Control Hunt Plan. The plan proposes a highly regulated hunt on the Fitzner-Eberhart Arid Lands Ecology Reserve (ALE) of the Hanford Reach National Monument's Rattlesnake Unit. This proposed hunt is a means of reducing the elk population in cooperation with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Yakama Nation.
The goal of this proposed plan is to reduce the total number of elk in the Rattlesnake Hills Elk Herd to reduce depredation impacts to adjacent private lands and to prevent potential damage to resources on the Monument. The anticipated start of the hunt would be fall 2012. The draft Hunt Plan may be viewed at http://www.fws.gov/hanfordreach/management.html and paper copies may be obtained by calling 509-546-8300.
Population control hunting of this elk population was among the management actions identified in the 2008 Hanford Reach National Monument Comprehensive Conservation Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (CCP). For additional information the CCP may be accessed at http://www.fws.gov/hanfordreach/management.html
All comments received from the public will be reviewed and considered before finalizing the Elk Population Control Hunt Plan. Written comments will be accepted through Dec. 30, 2011, and may be submitted by mail to Elk Plan Comments, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 64 Maple St., Burbank, WA, 99323; by fax to 509-546-8303; by e-mail to hanfordreach@fws.gov; or via the web at http://www.fws.gov/hanfordreach/contact.html
