NewsTracker

Last we knew: Conservation groups have pushed to phase out elk feedgrounds in Wyoming.

The latest: They're suing in federal court to stop elk feeding on the National Elk Refuge near Jackson.

What's next: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will respond to the lawsuit in Washington, D.C.

LANDER - Five conservation organizations sued the federal government Tuesday in an attempt to stop the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from feeding elk on the National Elk Refuge in Wyoming.

The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., argues that continued wintertime elk feeding on the federally run refuge near Jackson will "maintain ideal conditions for the transmission of brucellosis, and also is highly likely to invite a devastating outbreak of lethal chronic wasting disease."

Among the groups that have signed onto the lawsuit - which argues that the government should "phase out" the elk feeding program - are the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance and the Wyoming Outdoor Council.

An outbreak of chronic wasting disease, which the lawsuit characterizes as "the elk equivalent of 'mad cow' disease," would damage the native habitat around Jackson Hole and "otherwise disrupt the function and stability of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem," the lawsuit claims.

Brucellosis, chronic wasting disease, scabies and hoof rot are all diseases of concern for the estimated 7,500 elk that congregate on feedlines each winter, according to Jeff Welsch, spokesman for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition.

"Scabies and hoof rot are already visibly prevalent on the refuge, and the crowded conditions foster brucellosis as well," Welsch wrote in a prepared statement Tuesday. "The most ominous possibility is the spread of (chronic wasting disease). In the farm-like conditions of the refuge, disease can spread quickly through the herds. CWD has already been found as close as Thermopolis, about 70 miles to the east."

Rick Coleman, assistant regional director for refuges with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said his agency was aware of the lawsuit, but officials didn't yet have any details about it Tuesday. Coleman said he was not at liberty to discuss the case or any of its arguments.

Eric Keszler, spokesman for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, said the state agency doesn't believe it would be a correct decision to stop wintertime feeding of elk and bison at this time. The state agency operates 22 of its own elk feedgrounds in northwest Wyoming.

Feedgrounds were started in the state about 100 years ago to deal with the loss of winter habitat, and also to attempt to reduce conflicts with ranchers, "and those two problems haven't gone away," Keszler said.

"We think shutting down feedgrounds is a solution that's too simple for a very complex problem, and it will create more problems than we currently have," he said.

Keszler also advised people to be skeptical of claims that chronic wasting disease, if it were introduced to the area, would devastate the elk populations. The evidence currently available to Game and Fish biologists suggests otherwise, he said.

Jim Magagna, executive vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, said the lawsuit isn't a great surprise, given the groups participating in the complaint.

"Those same groups have been absolutely opposed to the feeding of elk by the state or the federal government for quite some time," Magagna said.

While some management mistakes have been made on the elk feedgrounds over the years, Magagna said, the alternatives now available to state and federal officials are far worse than continuing the feeding operations.

"I'm not completely satisfied with the management, but I think we determined a long time ago that providing some wintertime support for elk is important for Wyoming residents and for the nation," he said. "That's why it's a national refuge."

As for the potential impacts of chronic wasting disease on Jackson-area elk, Magagna said the argument is "very speculative," and it's unclear whether the National Elk Refuge would have any discernable impact on the spread of the disease.

Bob Wharff, executive director of Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, agreed.

"I think it's kind of a joke," Wharff said. "These groups seem hell-bent on eliminating the feedgrounds no matter what the consequences."

The reality is, he argued, that a huge percentage of those animals, if not fed, will starve to death in the winter, and many of those that survive will live on feed provided for livestock, or will descend on the towns and into "people's backyards."

"Either way, more than likely, those animals will have to be lethally removed," Wharff said. "The people in the Jackson area are not going to want that to happen, and they're not going to want them starve to death. We have a moral obligation to see to the welfare of those animals."

As for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition's contention that the elk refuge is "farm-like," Wharff took issue with the comparison.

"It's over 25,000 acres - that's a lot bigger than any elk farm I've ever heard of," he said. "For over 100 years we've recognized the need to feed those animals. For groups to come out now and say we need to stop, I think it's a joke. It's all speculative, and, personally, I think it's a frivolous lawsuit."

But Lloyd Dorsey, with the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, said people need merely to look at states bordering Wyoming, such as Idaho and Montana, which don't have elk feeding programs, to see the flaws with the arguments put forth for maintaining the elk feedgrounds.

"Other areas have healthier big game populations where they do not artificially concentrate and bait the big game animals, and all the other species of big game animals are present as well," Dorsey said. "There are also thriving livestock industries and hunting and outfitting industries where they don't artificially concentrate their big game animals."

Phasing out the feeding program and protecting the winter habitat in the Jackson Hole region would ensure healthy and sustainable wildlife populations for generations to come, he said.

"The (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's) own scientists and the conditions on the elk refuge show that artificial feeding results in diseased wildlife and diseased habitat," Dorsey said.

A century of elk feedgrounds

State and federal officials have been involved in feeding elk, by varying degrees, for more than a century.

* In 1910, the Wyoming Legislature appropriated $5,000 to feed elk in Jackson Hole, which marked the first step toward a formal feeding program in northwest Wyoming.

* In 1911, the Legislature requested a congressional appropriation for "feeding, protecting, and otherwise preserving the big game which winters in great numbers within the confines of the State of Wyoming," according to the Game and Fish Department. A month later, Congress approved $20,000 for elk feeding.

* In 1912, Congress appropriated $45,000 to buy land for the establishment of the National Elk Refuge.

Source: Star-Tribune archives

Environment reporter Chris Merrill can be reached at chris.merrill@trib.com or at (307) 267-6722.

* Last we knew: Conservation groups have pushed to phase out elk feedgrounds in Wyoming.

* The latest: They're suing in federal court to stop elk feeding on the National Elk Refuge near Jackson.

* What's next: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will respond to the lawsuit in Washington, D.C.]]->

State and federal officials have been involved in feeding elk, by varying degrees, for more than a century.

* In 1910, the Wyoming Legislature appropriated $5,000 to feed elk in Jackson Hole, which marked the first step toward a formal feeding program in northwest Wyoming.

* In 1911, the Legislature requested a congressional appropriation for "feeding, protecting, and otherwise preserving the big game which winters in great numbers within the confines of the State of Wyoming," according to the Game and Fish Department. A month later, Congress approved $20,000 for elk feeding.

* In 1912, Congress appropriated $45,000 to buy land for the establishment of the National Elk Refuge.

Source: Star-Tribune archives]]->