State officials explain elk eradication effort

WAUKON – State officials tonight firmly expressed their resolve to eradicate a small herd of free-roaming elk that has won the hearts of many local wildlife enthusiasts.

“We are charged by the Iowa Code to look after wildlife. If we can't find the owner (of an escaped elk), we will put the animal down,” said Dale Garner, wildlife bureau chief for the Department of Natural Resources.

Because of the threat elk pose in transmitting chronic wasting disease to wild whitetail deer, Garner also said the DNR would oppose any attempt to establish a free-roaming wild herd of elk in Iowa.

"We are looking at the best interests of the state overall, and we will stick to our plan," he said.

Tim Mason of rural McGregor, one of several advocates of nurturing the elk rather than killing them, said the elk themselves have proven that they can sustain themselves in the Yellow River valley.

"This is a political move. The state is putting ecomomics and agriculture ahead of reclaiming a part of Iowa's natural heritage," Mason said.

Another advocate of nurturing the elk, Allamakee High School biology teacher Sherry Jensen, said she thinks an elk herd may yet be established in the area when biologists understand more about controlling chronic wasting disease.

In the meantime, she said she doubts the DNR will get all the elk now roaming the valley.

Garner and State Veterinarian Dr. David Schmitt said the elk, likely escapees from a captive herd, pose too grave a threat to livestock and Iowa's whitetail deer herd to allow them to roam free.

More than 100 people gathered at the Waukon Banquet Center for the meeting. Attendees were able to submit written questions after the presentation by Garner and Schmitt.

In the past three weeks, the DNR, with agriculture department concurrence, has killed three elk believed to be escapees from captivity to have them tested for chronic wasting disease (CWD) and other livestock-related diseases such as tuberculosis and brucellosis.

At least two elk remain at large in a heavily wooded area near the Yellow River in Allamakee County.

“I can tell you, we do not like having to kill these animals, but we simply do not know where they came from,” said Garner, adding that it is extremely unlikely that they are wild elk.

While acknowledging that the disease risk posed by the elk may be small, Garner said “the consequence to the resource is enormous” and should be avoided.

Garner said the problems associated with CWD, a contagious and always-fatal neurological disease affecting deer and elk, are unfolding in Wisconsin where more than 20 percent of the male deer in the core area are infected with the disease.

 Since 2007, he said, there have been 48 instances in Iowa of elk escaping from captive herds involving 81 animals.