A few months back, I wrote about an opportunity for hunters to show their conservation roots and experience a rare chance to hunt the Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s elk. The big picture is to reduce the herd significantly with volunteer hunters. This first season, the target is 275 elk.
The hunts are underway, and it looks like things are going pretty well, at least as I have read in this article from the Bismark Tribune. It’s not an easy hunt, apparently, and the participants have to be willing and able to pass the tests both of hunting skills and marksmanship, as well as of the rugged Badlands environment.
It looks like the effort will be ongoing for a couple of years. Check out my last post on this topic for details, and if you’re interested, it would be worthwhile to contact the good folks in North Dakota and get yourself added to the list. It’s a great opportunity to make your hunting count for more than just a personal experience.
Big thanks to my friend, Jim Petterson from the National Park Service for the heads up and early info on this.
I hope it works, though I have my suspicions. Perhaps they’ll start moving better with the pressure, though I fear they’ll just bunch up in the ‘no hunting’ sections of the park…