OK, first there was the call for elk hunting in Rocky Mountain National Park. Then the folks in North Dakota called for an elk hunt in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. And now the folks in South Dakota believe they should be entitled to an elk hunt in Wind Cave National Park.
Who's next? Should we open a black bear season in Yosemite and Sequoia, where those bruins can really do a number on cars that are harboring gum wrappers? Perhaps a mountain goat hunt in Glacier. Have you ever been on Logan Pass in the summer? The goats are like a plague of locusts.
Of course, the underlying problem here (outside of the black bear problems) is wildlife control...or out of control. And that's the result of the keystone predator -- humans -- deciding which other predators have a right to be in the parks. And we sure seem to be botching that, don't we?
If you listen to some of the proposed solutions to deal with these animals, we either need government sharpshooters to dispatch the excess ungulates, controlled hunts that involve the general public, or more predators, aka wolves.
While I endorse the natural solution, aka wolves, that won't easily go over with the ranchers who neighbor these parks. Although, there has been a truce of sorts around Yellowstone. The same can't be said of Yellowstone and its bison, but that's another story.
Perhaps we should start a pool to see which park is next targeted for a big game hunt.
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