Elk Reduction in the Park (Not a Bakken Story)

Somehow this doesn't seem right to be bringing up this story about Rudolph's cousins in North Dakota just weeks before they begin their grueling trip Christmas Eve.

Anyway, the Dickinson Press is reporting that the initial volunteer elk hunt went well in the park.

From what I have heard, this whole endeavor was undertaken with much forethought and "compassion," if that's the right word. If there's any complaint, it could only be directed at letting the herd outgrow what the park could support. However, most of us eat beef, chicken, or fish. Giving the elk meat to food banks, I think, is truly an appropriate outcome.

If there is any craziness, it is another example of bureaucratic inertia:

The park is reducing the elk herd because it is no longer allowed to transport elk to other places due to a 2003 moratorium concerning chronic wasting disease.

CWD tests on elk have all come back negative, a spokesman for the park said.

Moratorium? Where have we heard that before?

Updates

February 3, 2011: The elk hunt has ended and has been declared a success.  A three-month effort; a total of 406 elk were removed from the park between November 1, 2010, and January 20, 2011; the goal was 250; "...the effort exceeded all of our expectations," according to a spokesman.

December 11, 2010: The elk hunt has reached the midway point with resounding success. Except, of course, for some of the elk.