skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Wyoming Elk: To Feed or Not to Feed during the Winter?

play audio
Play

Monday, August 31, 2015   

JACKSON, Wy. - "To feed, or not to feed?" is the question being debated when it comes to elk in western Wyoming.

A decision to renew a feeding permit is pending in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, and there are at least 30 other feeding sites.

Herds have been fed during the winter for more than 75 years, a practice that came into play to restore populations after they were over-hunted.

Lloyd Dorsey, conservation director with the Sierra Club Wyoming Chapter, says that was well-intentioned, but it isn't needed anymore and should be phased out.

"The unintended consequences are these elk are contracting diseases because they're kept in disease-ridden conditions," says Dorsey.

The elk are confined when they show up for feeding, and Dorsey says that kind of environment is ripe for hoof rot, which can and has killed elk at feeding grounds. He adds the bigger looming threat is chronic wasting disease an always-fatal infection that is highly contagious.

A decision is expected soon from the Bridger-Teton Forest on whether to re-permit elk feeding at Alkali Creek.

Dorsey acknowledges seeing elk hungry can tug at the heart strings, but he describes the species as rugged and well-evolved to survive even the most brutal winters as long as they have room to roam.

"The elk in western Wyoming would actually be healthier if we transitioned them to the bountiful, available habitat on our public lands and other lands in western Wyoming," says Dorsey.

The roaming factor is one reason why proponents want the elk to be fed, so they do not graze on private and public land used for livestock grazing. Supporters of feeding are also concerned elk could transmit infections to domestic animals if they roam in search of food.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021