Cheyenne – Today, Wyoming Game and Fish Director Brian Nesvik again called for the stop to the mountain goat culling through aerial gunning in Grand Teton National Park. The park intends to begin mountain goat removal today and through the weekend. Mountain goat trouble has been brewing in the Tetons for some time and it may end in handcuffs and tears.
In a personalized Kim Davis call from the Director of Game and Fish to Gopaul Noojibail, acting Grand Teton Park superintendent directly, Game and Fish made a third demand to stop aerial gunning to remove mountain goats from the Targhee herd.
“While we recognize Grand Teton National Park’s efforts to address the expansion of mountain goats in native bighorn sheep ranges, the department has been consistent in voicing our opposition to the use of aerial lethal removal,” said Brian Nesvik, Game and Fish director.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission passed a resolution in Jan. 2020 condemning the use of aerial gunning to manage goats and urged Grand Teton to use skilled volunteers as the removal method. In a letter dated Jan. 28, 2019, the Department formally recommended the Park to use skilled volunteers for mountain goat removal.
The commission’s resolution calls for the National Park Service to immediately cancel plans to kill the goats through aerial gunning and instead implement a plan allowing the goats to be removed by skilled volunteers. The resolution passed unanimously with the commissioners opting for a rare roll call vote to clearly articulate and memorialize their message.
“This decision to use aerial gunning flies in the face of all Wyoming values with how we approach wildlife management,” said Game and Fish Commissioner Mike Schmid.
“Game and Fish continues to hear from the public loud disapproval of the Park’s selected method of removal,” Director Nesvik said. “I have again asked the acting superintendent to use skilled volunteers because it aligns with the public’s desires for acceptable methods of removal while allowing the park to achieve their objectives to reduce mountain goat populations.”
It doesn’t seem like this mountain goat trouble is going to be solved until someone is slapped in cuffs like a common criminal.
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