FORKS — Some of the elk that wander into Forks might be living on borrowed time.
Tonight, the Forks City Council will consider an ordinance allowing the discharge of firearms when authorized by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. The council meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall, 500 E. Division St.
Rod Fleck, city attorney and planner, said the city is seeking a two-pronged plan for an ordinance that would allow the discharge of firearms, bows and/or crossbows inside the city limits and urban growth area when authorized by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The ordinance is in response to the increases in the population of the local elk herds, Fleck said.
He said the plan is to offer permits for agricultural use and special hunt tags with a draw system.
“We are looking to bring the herd size down and stop the breaking off of smaller herds,” Fleck said.
Fleck hopes to see the council adopt the measure tonight so it can be sent to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife for approval. If that comes through in April, the plan would be implemented in the fall, he said.
At the Feb. 26 council meeting, Forks resident John Richmond brought photographs that he said showed elk damage to property in the area.
He said he has concerns about any kind of open season on the elk.
“Elk can become semi-domesticated and some methods of deterring them can include hazing, capture and transfer, sterilization and culling,” he said.
Richmond is a descendant of the Hoh pioneer John Huelsdonk. He said that in the 1920s his mother, Dora Huelsdonk Richmond, was paid by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to capture elk calves to exchange for mountain goats to put in the Olympics before it was a park.
The family raised the calves until they were old enough to be driven over trail to Forks to be shipped off to two islands in Alaska and to Skagit County. Richmond demonstrated a “calf call” device that he said can send elk running.
Scott Baysinger spoke about his experience with thinning the Sequim elk herd.
“There are ways to hunt safely,” he said. “I helped with guided hunts in Sequim. Their numbers are now back to normal.”
Baysinger added that special permits arranged access to private land.
Other action
In other business Feb. 26, the Forks City Council voted 3-1 to order four new police vehicles.
Forks Police Chief Mike Rowley said that recently an officer went to go out on call and the vehicle would not start; when it finally did start, it was not running reliably.
“I need vehicles that are up and running, representing the department in a positive light and that are safe for my officers,” the chief said.
Councilman Jon Preston made the motion to approve the new vehicles, also saying he would donate $100 to the cause. Preston, Bill Brager and Joe Soha voted in favor, while Councilman John Hillcar voted against it, saying he preferred buying two now and two later. Councilwoman Juanita Weissenfels was not present.
The new vehicles will be leased, but at the end of the lease, the department will own them. Rowley said this will mean reduced maintenance costs and that the existing radios will be re-installed in the new cars.
The quote for the purchase of the new vehicles is through the state Department of Enterprise Services. It came in at $142,832 or $35,708 each. The leases are for four years.
The cars are fully outfitted except for radios which would be transferred from current vehicles. The department has cut expenses and the new cars will still be within the budget, according to city officials.
In other reports, a grant has been received to upgrade the cameras in the jail as well as the computer that operates them. Rowley said that the new camera system will help in getting contracts with other entities to house their inmates.
The chief told council members that he is seeking to change the attitude in the jail by offering counseling and other new programs to those incarcerated.
“We are looking at no longer just housing people. We are working with volunteers to teach life skills to those spending time in our jail,” he said.
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Christi Baron, the editor of the Forks Forum, reported this story. The forum is part of the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is also composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News and Sequim Gazette. Reach her at cbaron@forksforum.com.
