BLYN — From the list that has fueled months of discussion, one elk plan has risen to the top.
A team of state, tribal and local officials serving as an advisory team has decided that moving the Dungeness herd of Roosevelt elk to Snow Creek, at the mouth of Discovery Bay in Jefferson County, is best for the animals, humans and farms northeast of Sequim.
The team spent four hours at the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s community center Thursday, weighing elk management alternatives that included:
* Taking no action.
* “Lethal removal” of the animals.
* Relocation to Snow Creek.
* Fencing them south of U.S. Highway 101 around Burnt Hill southeast of Sequim.
* “Drawing down” the herd by killing 10 elk per year for the next eight or so years.
“We validated [relocation] as the preferred alternative,” state Department of Fish and Wildlife regional director Sue Patnude said at the close of the meeting.
“So we need to start fleshing that out.”
