Park Service: Elk-culling could begin in fall

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The National Park Service says the culling of an overpopulated elk herd at North Dakota's Theodore Roosevelt National Park could begin this fall.

The plan would allow volunteers, rather than government-funded sharpshooters, to go into the park, kill the elk and share the meat with food pantries.

Park officials say the ideal elk population at the park is 100 to 400 but the herd has grown to about 950.

Park Service officials have said federal law prohibits the use of private hunters in the park, located in western North Dakota's Badlands. But officials say a change is expected to be published in the Federal Register in about a month.

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