Are you kidding me? According to the “Rural Montana Foundation,” astroturf not grassroots, ranches are overrun with elk. I’m sure everyday Montana hunters would love access to same, but
something tells me they can’t get it. These elk are basically locusts, yet these poor ranchers somehow can’t entice hunters to reduce their numbers. Not even block management works, because it doesn’t pay the ranchers enough! It’s all elk, no hunters! Whatever will we do?
Aha! If you just give the ranchers perks — like free elk tags they can hand out to anyone they feel like, doubtless for a handsome access fee. Or more money to put land in block management — because ranchers should be paid to have their pests terminated.
Any means of converting elk to cash will do — then, not only will these deplorably high elk populations be brought under control, but incredibly wealthy ranchers will get to be incredibly wealthier.
Don’t I remember just three or four years ago when ranchers, among others, were complaining there aren’t enough elk because wolves are eating too many?
Apparently we’ve solved that problem, so I’m sure RMF’s next guest column will advocate reduced wolf hunting, so that non-human predation can also take a greater role in knocking elk numbers
down.
Yes, most ranchers are actually not incredibly wealthy, but it doesn’t seem like those who are just getting by are actually the ones crying about this sudden radical infestation of elk. It feels, rather, like the work of Daines’ and Gianforte’s rich-buddy hobby-ranchers trying to convert public resources and state funds to private cash. Because they don’t already have enough.
Doug Downs
Bozeman
Bozeman Daily Chronicle Letter to the Editor 3/20/21