Elk ranch petitions stall in Salem

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission unanimously voted last week to deny three petitions to change elk ranching rules, delaying the process of rule-making until issues could be further explored by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) staff and other stakeholders.

"We are fortunate in Oregon to have clean wild and farmed populations as far as elk are concerned," said Commissioner Zane Smith. "There are a number of issues that I feel need more consideration before we trigger rule making."

The commission directed staff to return to the February commission meeting with recommendations about the scope of issues rule making will consider, the stakeholders to participate in the process and a time frame for staff to return to the commission with recommended rules.

Before making the decision to deny the petitions, the commission heard testimony from several Oregonians representing diverse positions on the issue, from elk ranchers to members of the MAD-Elk Coalition which includes Oregon Hunters Association, the Humane Society and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

The testimony raised many issues regarding elk ranching ranging from escape, disease transmission, genetics, costs to ranchers, ODFW program costs, surveillance and testing measures and commercial uses for domestically-raised elk.

Two of the petitions denied by the commission today were presented by the MAD-Elk Coalition and would have phased out elk ranching or required double fencing on elk ranches. The third petition denied, received by the commission last Friday, was from a coalition of elk ranchers.