The National Elk Refuge and the Jackson Hole Elk Herd: Management Appraisal and Recommendations

Halverson, Anders

The federal government established the National Elk Refuge and began feeding the elk herd in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in 1912. Currently administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the program has four goals: to preserve critical winter range for the elk herd, to keep the elk from depredating the nearby ranches, to provide habitat for other species on the refuge, and to provide compatible human benefits. In many ways, the program has been a remarkable success. The once-dwindling elk herd has rebounded and been used to repopulate other areas of the country, depredation has been reduced, the refuge provides habitat for a wide variety of species, and both the herd and the refuge have provided many tangible and intangible human benefits. Numerous problems face the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, however. Disease and habitat loss threaten the elk herd, ranchers face economic losses from the risk of interspecific disease transmission, the dense concentration of the elk on the refuge is degrading habitat for themselves and other species, and the human benefits derived from the herd and the refuge are at risk for the same reasons. Furthermore, these problems have become increasingly difficult to resolve as relations between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the other responsible agencies and non-government organizations, and the general public have become increasingly contentious. This paper appraises the management of the National Elk Refuge and the Jackson Hole elk herd and makes recommendations for resolving some of the problems facing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These recommendations include increasing public involvement in management decisions, increasing agency knowledge of the social context, holding decision seminars and other problem-solving exercises, and increasing the role of the USFWS in land-use decisions outside the refuge.

The National Elk Refuge and the Jackson Hole Elk Herd: Management Appraisal and Recommendations

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