DICKINSON, N.D. -- Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and the North Dakota Game and Fish Department have it right when they say volunteer hunters should be allowed to shoot elk in Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
The National Park Service is looking for ways to thin the herd and Dorgan is wise to listen to the Game and Fish Department's reasonable idea of how to do it.
But instead of giving volunteers the opportunity to make a shot of a lifetime, the National Park Service's options include bringing in sharpshooters to take out elk; rounding them up and euthanizing them; or relocating them. The National Park Service didn't even include the volunteer hunting alternative in its plan. Why not?
If there are no ranchers who could take the elk and there really are too many elk, volunteer hunts should be the alternative. But where are all of these elk hiding out and in what way is this native species overrunning the park (maybe that's a conversation for another time)?
If it indeed must be done, why not let locals in on the action? And why not save a chunk of taxpayer money?
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But it never will fly because it makes too much sense.
The issue of who should be taking care of the wildlife in our backyard shouldn't be decided by people in Washington -- some 1,600 miles away. It should be decided by people from the area who know what's going on and what's best for it. Dorgan grew up in Regent, he must know a thing or two about what is best for the area.
The other options make about as much sense as a past Park Service idea to spend $250,000 to move a picnic area at Teddy Roosevelt because unruly prairie dogs made their home there. Dorgan had the common sense and suggested relocating the prairie dogs instead of spending $250,000. That didn't fly.
Maybe the NPS should have removed the prairie dogs with the prairie dog vacuum removal system, which is a real device. That makes sense, too, no? Heck, maybe the Park Service could come up with something like that to suck up the elk -- problem solved.
Now back to making sense.
If the course of nature isn't working, then let the hunters in. Hiring outside sharpshooters or rounding the elk up and killing them would be a waste of time and a waste of taxpayers' money.
And besides, hunting is tradition here. It builds family bonds, fills freezers and for some, is a thrill.
If the volunteers aren't interested in keeping the meat, they can give it to a food pantry. Certainly, this is another benefit of allowing them in.
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Elk are not some exotic animal. Game and Fish is for it, Dorgan is for it, and it's probably a safe bet that the hunters are for it.
