Mountain goat removal in Olympic National Park
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WDFW WILDLIFE PROGRAM
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
[email protected]
Olympic National Park is recruiting skilled volunteers to assist with the lethal removal of non-native mountain goats from the park. Selected volunteers will be required to travel on foot up to 15 miles a day through park wilderness, much of which will be off trail in predominantly steep and extremely challenging terrain.
This program will occur from Sept. 9 - Oct. 17, 2020.
In order to participate, volunteers must apply in groups of 3-6 people, and participate in one of three scheduled removal sessions.
Participants must:
attend one day of training at the beginning of each designated removal session
pass a background check
meet requirements for physical fitness, orienteering, and experience recreating in extensive mountainous wilderness.
Groups may consist of field support personnel and expert marksmen; only those who pass a firearms proficiency test (which will be administered during each training) will be permitted to shoot goats in the park. Each group must have at least one person that passes the firearms proficiency test.
Volunteers must supply all their own required equipment and supplies, including suitable firearms and non-toxic ammunition.
Applications will be accepted until at least April 17. After that date, it will close as soon as 30 qualified groups apply, or on April 24 (whichever comes first).
For the past three years the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has been a partner with Olympic National Park and many other organizations in this effort to return the ecosystem to a natural state. Thank you for considering participation in this important effort to remove nonnative mountain goats from the Olympic National Park.
Please visit nps.gov/olym/getinvolved/mountain-goat-management-removal.htm for more information.

Looks like a free goat hunt to qualified people.

Are they allowed to shoot the PETA protestors?

Only the ones actually hugging the goat you're shooting, and it can only be accidental.

I got that e-mail today. I've hiked all over the Olympics, 15 miles a day off trail could be a little rough. I don't think any of my hunting buds would want to do this and even if they did I don't.

What's the limit and can they keep them?

No limit, its a shoot not a hunt. I don't know if you can keep them.

They won't let you keep them. I'm sure you'll just leave them lay. Not my cup of tea. I couldn't pass the physical end of it after the ruptured achilles last fall. I'm sure they will get a lot of volunteers.

That is some serious hiking territory and 15 miles a day...........that's going to separate the pro's from the pussies.. Big time.

Steep country. I’d love to do it, and can pass the shooting part, but don’t think at my age I can do 15 miles a day in that terrain. Steep.

If you look at the areas they are tough and steep country. Best goat numbers are deep in the park.

They did this in Yellowstone Park last year. Govenor got after them before they got a lot of them. He was offering to capture them and relocate them so we could get more hunting licenses for them. Park fought him.

No limit, they specifically ask you to shoot everyone you see and yes you can keep all of the meat you want from them. Just have to do some paperwork on what you shot where and bring the biologists some samples

Seems like a great opportunity for a guide.

Can you ride horses?

15 off trail...mid 30s and am thinking who the hell would want to do that

Complete lunacy.

Parks don't even seem to try to remove invasive weeds, but they will remove mountain goats?

When I took my parks course, most all parks systems are committed by law to protect the park against all invasive species. I would consider removing brook trout or mountain goats if they get off their ass and remove the invasive plants. The invasive plants cause way more damage to the parks than mountain goats will. Removing the plants is very costly and a multi-year project, if not multi-decade.

Anymore, it seems parks are administered by complete morons.

If you are pissing, these goats will come in and lick up the urine. They are that desperate for salt. These goats have zero fear of people. A number of hikers have been gored by these goats.

That's because the NPS no hunting policy makes pets out of them. Look at Yellowstone and the problems they have with tame animals.

I'm in, but need two other victims.

I have no idea why this is necessary but at least they’re doing this completely unnecessary thing this way

They will be like wild boar in the South, there's no way to get them all. You can only hope to keep numbers down. If they really want to get rid of them, offer a nice sized bounty and open the season year round with no holds barred.

Why don't they raise hundreds of thousands of $$$$ and have a hunt....

Plenty of folks are out there including me who would pay $$$ to "help" them....

Nothing stopping you from putting a team together. No $$$ needed. Put up or shut up.

Grand Teton National Park, not Yellowstone, started culling goats from a helicopter over the objections of many state officials. I’m thinking it was earlier this year. It was only when the secretary of the interior told them to cease and desist that they stopped. Apparently because governor Gordon wrote him a letter.

Seems like they got 30 some of the 100 or so. The carcasses were left to rot. Wyoming wants the park to hold a hunt.

Why couldn't this have been 25 years ago when I was hunting up in that country..I used to archery hunt up over MT Tounsand..it was brutal steep an about all I could do then...looking into the olimpic park it was even steeper and rougher. Not many people this day and age are in that kind of shape..hour or so a day in a gym ain't gon cut it...
An old logger showed me those hunting spots. He was 80 in 1991... he Fell the reghtaway for all the roads around Qulicne ..I could barely keep up with him in the woods and I was in my late 20 s...that the breed it would take..

1974 I hiked through from the Quinalt to the Elwah side over a pass there. Early July, near record snowfall year, postholing through the snow on Low Divide. Even on the trail some parts of that hike were not much fun, at 20+ years old.

Now? Going off trail after goats in the higher parts of the park? Not for this old fella with the metal knee.

Back then, sure thing, lets get after them.

Geno

How big an accident, like a really BIG one or will a teensie-weensie one make the cut?

Remember forum unwritten rule, no pictures or it didn't happen.