Why is it, they think they need to kill extra Elk… they are taking animals from Natural Predators… Humans have already proven they dont know how to, nor can they manage wildlife….
A Jackson photographer who has sued to stop the annual elk hunt in Grand Teton National Park has secured a license to shoot an elk starting Oct. 24.
Timothy Mayo said he bought the license to show that officials are not following laws requiring park hunters to be qualified and experienced. A plaintiff in the 2014 suit against the U.S. Department of Interior and National Park Service, Mayo said he purchased his license over the counter at the Wyoming Game and Fish Department office in Jackson without demonstrating any marksmanship abilities.
A park spokesman said Monday that Mayo’s possession of a hunter safety card satisfies the legal requirements for qualifications and experience. Mayo disagrees. Officials have no idea whether he could hit the broad side of a barn, he said.
“When I did take the [hunter safety] course they had basically play guns,” Mayo said. Instructors asked rudimentary questions like “Do you know the difference between a turkey and an elk?” he said.
“It’s about as simplistic as can be,” he said. “There is no measurement of marksmanship. You’re never asked to shoot a gun.”
Mayo said he worries that unqualified or inexperienced hunters endanger park visitors, including photographers like him.
“We’re looking down the barrel of greatly increased visitation in the parks,” he said. “This park hunt was established in a different time. Putting so many visitors at risk, as they do for over a month every year — eventually somebody’s going to get tapped.”
Jackson photographer and Realtor Tim Mayo has obtained a license to hunt in Grand Teton National Park in an effort to show that officials never qualified him as an “experienced” hunter as required by law. Mayo has sued the National Park Service claiming the hunt is dangerous to visitors and protected grizzly bears. (David J. Swift)
Grand Teton spokesman Andrew White said that the Park Service expects to issue permits to those who hold Wyoming Game and Fish licenses for the Grand Teton elk hunt. The permits list 13 conditions, including that hunters carry their certified hunter-safety cards.
“Really, that’s where it all lies,” White said. “If they carry that hunter-safety card, they’re saying they’re a qualified and experienced hunter.”
1,000 elk targeted this year
Grand Teton National Park and Wyoming Game and Fish Department are targeting 1,000 elk from Grand Teton and parts of Yellowstone national parks. They propose issuing 650 licenses to hunt inside Grand Teton National Park itself, according to an agreement signed by state and federal officials.
Source: ‘Unqualified’ hunter gets Grand Teton protest elk license | WyoFile