Letter to The Honorable Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Interior
Letter to The Honorable Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Interior
February 23, 2007
Dirk Kempthorne
Secretary of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20240
Dear Secretary Kempthorne:
It was nice talking with you yesterday. This is to follow-up on our conversation regarding an effective and acceptable management plan to control the growing elk population in the South Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. To briefly summarize, in 1985, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, National Park Service (NPS), and U.S. Forest Service entered into a Memorandum of Understanding as part of an NPS Natural Resource Management policy that encouraged reintroduction of native wildlife species. Since that time the elk herd has expanded in the park and continues to grow, largely as a result of the inability to effectively remove sufficient animals. Your staff at the Park have worked on identifying a long term and effective management plan for this elk herd. That is the purpose of this correspondence.
We realize that a hunting season as a management action is prohibited by enabling legislation that created TRNP. We further realize that on a nationwide basis there may be some adverse reaction to a standard hunting season within the boundaries of the park. That, however, is not what we propose. We believe that using qualified, volunteer sportsmen to help reduce the number of elk in the park is a legitimate and reasonable option to culling the animals. The option, in fact, is not included in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, despite the fact that it would generate massive public support within the State of North Dakota for your efforts and would be much more economical and sustainable as a practical matter. Rather, more costly and problematic alternatives - such as translocation, fertility control and euthanasia - were advanced.
North Dakota, moreover, is not the only state that favors the use of qualified volunteer sportsmen or women for this purpose. During a recent meeting of the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, which is an association comprised of natural resource agencies from 19 western states and three Canadian provinces, a resolution on this issue was unanimously passed.
The Park Service has a good opportunity here to show it can respect local customs and values, and at the same time achieve good wildlife management objectives. The elk in and around TRNP are a valuable resource in the hearts and minds of many North Dakotans. Our agencies and our people have been good stewards of this resource in the past, and we will continue that tradition in the future. To retain the good will and trust of the people of North Dakota, it is critically important that you seriously allow the evaluation of all reasonable alternatives as a solution is sought. I look forward to meeting with you in Washington next week to further our discussion.
Sincerely,
John Hoeven
Governor
cc: Senator Byron Dorgan
Senator Kent Conrad
Congressman Earl Pomeroy
Terry Steinwand
http://governor.state.nd.us/media/news-releases/2007/02/070223a.html