Karen Chávez

kchavez@citizen-times.com

CLYDE - On a February morning, biologists with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission visited a Waynesville dairy farm where the landowner said he had shot three elk damaging his property — a bull, a cow and a calf — Jan. 29.

While walking the farm’s wheat fields and ridge lines, the biologists found even more dead elk, some gruesomely decomposed, some buried, which were not reported.

Emails retrieved through a Citizen-Times public records request reveal that the biologists were furious, saying they believed the deaths were “spite killing” by the landowner, and “an in your face challenge to the existence of elk and the WRC’s authority. If (the landowner) continues to simply shoot any elk found on his property he alone can significantly impact the sustainability of this elk herd.”

An investigation by wildlife law enforcement officers found the elk were damaging property on the Ross and Sons Dairy Farm, the largest agricultural operation in Haywood County, and declined to charge the landowners.

The incident drew public criticism on two sides – from those who enjoy seeing the giant animals return to the landscape after hundreds of years, and those who believe their property and their rights are being trampled by the reintroduced species.

In response, in part, to these incidents, the Wildlife Commission will hold a public hearing to take comment on proposed changes to elk management regulations, 15A NCAC 10B .0106 (Wildlife Taken for Depredations). The hearing on the proposed amendment will be 7 p.m. Thursday at Haywood Community College.

The proposed amendment will require a landowner who takes a depredating (causing damage) elk without a Commission-issued depredation permit to report that take to the Commission within 24 hours of the kill.

Additionally, a landowner who takes a depredating elk with a Commission-issued depredation permit must report it on the form provided with the permit.

“Now, a landowner only has to report alligators and bears if the landholder kills an animal in the act of depredation, and coyotes in the five-county red wolf (on the coast),” said Brad Howard, private lands program coordinator with the Wildlife Management Division of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, one of the biologists angry about the elk killings.

“There is no requirement for reporting elk. We’re just adding the term elk. The requirement to report in 24 hours is already there. We’re doing some grammar cleanup.”

Mike Carraway, wildlife biologist in the western region, said he sees the permit rule changes as requiring anybody who shoots an elk in the act of depredation to report it to wildlife within 24 hours, which was not a previous requirement.

“For depredation permits, an animal has to be in the act of damaging property,” Carraway said. “If they can document property damage, they don’t have to get a permit.”

Some points not laid out in the permits are the extent and dollar amount of damage that needs to be caused before someone can shoot an elk on their property. Biologists and law enforcement officers say adding that language to the rules would help to lessen confusion.

Lt. Andrew Helton, who was one of the investigators in the winter elk killings on the Ross Farm, said no one has ever been charged with illegally taking an elk in WNC, except for one individual who drove his truck into the Cataloochee Valley of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and shot a bull elk from his window several years ago.

“When it comes to landowners, I’m glad they have a lot of rights. It’s very difficult for us to make a case against a landowner on any animal. They have a right to protect their property. If they feel threatened by any animal, they have a rights to protect themselves,” Helton said.

A contentious history

Elk were a native species to Western North Carolina, roaming and grazing the mountains, along with black bear, deer and red wolves.

Being so large — a bull elk can grow to weigh 1,000 pounds, Carraway said — they were also an easy target for hunters for their meat and their antlers. So easy, the animals were exterminated from the landscape 200 years ago. Their natural predator, the red wolf, is now nearly extinct in the wild.

The National Park Service, working with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, based in Montana, where elk are still plentiful, reintroduced an experimental elk herd of 25 animals in 2001 into the Cataloochee Area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Another 27 were introduced the following year.

The elk were an instant hit with locals and tourists.

The herd multiplied in the past 15 years to an estimated 140-160 animals, Carraway said. However, the elk began to wander outside the park boundaries, crossing roads, causing traffic jams, getting hit by cars, and nibbling their way into homeowners’ gardens, and farmers’ crops, and scaring farm animals.

The conflict came to a head in Jan. 29, when the bull, cow and calf were killed.

“It clearly identified a bigger issue that we needed to address. There was a concern that perhaps that would be the perception that others would start killing elk,” Howard said. “The frustrations on both sides were so high. I think it made everyone take a deep pause.”

Moving forward in a land of elk and people

Last year there were 20 elk killed, mostly by motor vehicle accidents. So far this year there have been at least seven elk killed, mostly under depredation claims.

“We have not seen an onslaught of elk killing this year. In a weird sort of way it brought the discussion back to the table — farmers who want to protect their property and wildlife enthusiasts who don’t want the elk to be killed,” Howard said.

“In not every situation is everyone going to be happy. We co-exist with wildlife across the landscape, and we’re learning to co-exist with elk. They are large animals. They’re expanding their range. It doesn’t come without cost and benefit.”

To help alleviate some of the human-elk clashes, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission proposed delisting the elk as a species of special concern and opening an elk hunting season. Both proposals were passed Feb. 11 by the wildlife commissioners.

However, elk hunting is not yet allowed. It would not begin before fall of 2017, Howard said, and would be by permit only, and only if the size of the herd is deemed to be large enough to sustain a hunt.

For now, landowners can shoot an elk “while committing depredations on the property,” according to Rule 15A NCAC 10B .0106.

Adding elk to the rule will help Wildlife Commission staff in monitoring the size and composition of North Carolina’s elk herd. Because the elk population in WNC is small, it is important to document each mortality to ensure the Commission can base management decisions on the best available data.

As far as farmers shooting elk, that may continue, and in most cases, they will not be charged, Lt. Helton said.

“In the new proposal, we don’t have the definition of damage or a dollar amount, and that’s tough on us,” Helton said. “If an elk is eating clover in your backyard, and as an officer I know there’s no damage. But that person shot the elk, and we don’t have a case. They can show hoof prints and prove damage. Adding that language would help protect the elk. I think we’re moving in that direction.”

Helton said the Haywood County farmers claimed the elk were chasing and damaging their dairy cows, and they were also concerned about elk transferring a disease called brucellosis. Howard said there is no evidence of brucellosis in the elk herd.

Carraway said since January there have not been any more elk kills under depredation permits. He said a positive development is a new fence at the Ross farm.

The Wildlife Commission put up 2 miles of 6-foot-high fencing topped in white polytape. The fencing, which he said cost “thousands of dollars,” uses the bright white tape to provide a visual barrier that the elk can see. Although the fence is not electric, he said it can be electrified if needed.

A call Friday to Ralph Ross to ask about the fence was not returned. A call to his son, Hank Ross, who also farms the land, yielded “no comment.”

“It seems to be working. It scares away the elk for some reason,” Carraway said. “We haven’t had any more complaints."

The Wildlife Commission also provides similar, but smaller fence kits to homeowners who want to keep elk out of their gardens.

“It’s worth it to stop the elk killing,” Carraway said.

Loving — and butting heads with — Smokies elk

Three elk killed in Haywood County

Want to comment?

The hearing on the proposed amendment will be 7 p.m. Thursdayat the Haywood Community College auditorium, 185 Freedlander Drive in Clyde. Comment period for the proposed regulation will run through Oct. 14.

To see the proposed amendment, visit www.ncwildlife.org/Proposed-Regulations. Comments on the proposed changes may be submitted at the public hearing, emailed to regulations@ncwildlife.org or mailed to: Kate Pipkin, N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, 1701 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-1701.

After considering public comment, wildlife commissioners will take action on the proposal at the Wildlife Commission’s business meeting on Oct. 18. If approved, the amendment would take effect Dec. 1.