Elk reduction plan culls 462 head from herd

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The National Park Service reports that 462 elk were killed in what was the second year of a herd reduction plan that began last fall.

The Bismarck Tribune reports that the kills were attributed to 138 volunteers who had been selected to harvest elk in Theodore Roosevelt National Park between Oct. 18 and Nov. 22.

Last year, 406 elk were removed in a 12-week period. This year, the reduction started two weeks earlier and ended a month earlier.

Park Superintendent Valerie Naylor tells the Tribune that 200 volunteers had been chosen, but more than 60 failed to complete the five-week assignment. She says 20,000 pounds of elk meat was donated to the Sportsmen Against Hunter program, and North Dakota American Indian tribes also received 25,000 pounds of meat.

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