Wildlife Resources: The Elk of Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Clark, Tim

The Jackson Hole, Wyoming, elk herd lacks an effective “commons institution” for its management. Conflict over management is particularly intense for the segment of the herd that winters in the National Elk Refuge. The fundamental problem is that too many elk are concentrated in too small an area on the refuge in winter, leading to a high incidence of the disease brucellosis, vulnerability to tuberculosis, degradation of plant communities, loss of biodiversity, and high supplemental feeding costs. These substantive problems are accompanied by process or procedural problems: a large number of organizational participants, who have identified various problems in the situation, have been unable to resolve their differences. The decision process has been characterized by lawsuits, rigidification of opposing positions through the NEPA process, unclear goals, competing problem definitions, ineffective organizational mechanisms for addressing problems (including lack of public participation), and weak leadership. This situation can be attributed to institutional factors (such as the struggle for control and states’ rights), contextual factors (such as changes in the uses and values of the elk refuge and the role of the public in resource management), and leadership factors (such as the centralization, professionalization, and bureaucratization of management agencies). Three measures could help in clarifying and achieving common interests in the elk case. First, community-based participatory groups could build trust, skill, and civic knowledge. Second, government could establish a better decision process and leadership. Finally, a new goal of “restoring wild patterns” could alleviate many of the substantive problems of the current feed-ground concentrations of elk.

Wildlife Resources: The Elk of Jackson Hole, Wyoming

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