Scientific Review / Historic and prehistoric status of mountain goats in the Olympic Mountains / Scientific Review

Smith, H.

This paper is intended to be a scientific review of the information provided on the historic and prehistoric status or occurrence of the mountain goats (Oreamnos sp.) in the Olympic Mountains. It has been prepared at the request of the National Park Service - Olympic National Park to aid them in establishing and facilitating a sound management policy for the resources under their jurisdiction. A sound management policy for mountain goats is of paramount concern to park service peronnel since mountain goats, considered to be an exotic species by them, are a distruptive force in the current biotic communities Park Service personnel are trying to sustain in the park. According to park managers, preservation of these biotic communities would require rigorous management and population control of the mountain goats. Control would include techniques ranging from sterilization to removal. If goats are indeed exotic, not native, such stringent controls are allowable. If mountain goats are determined to be native then control measures are not allowed. Currently, the National Park Service manages the goat population as an introduced species, but challenges to this practice, exemplified by Lyman's manuscript, have necessitated a careful review of the status of mountain goats in the Olympic Mountains.