PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County Commissioner David Sullivan objects to having to read about a proposed transfer of elk to his county in the newspaper.
He said Tuesday at a public forum in Sequim that Jefferson county officials should have been contacted before now about a proposal to move up to 100 Wynoochee River Valley elk to the Snow and Salmon creek area north of Quilcene.
“They came up with this plan without any input from Jefferson County,” Sullivan said at the forum hosted by Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe, which jointly manage the elk herds.
Sullivan said he first heard about the proposal in May when he read an article outlining the proposal in Peninsula Daily News.
He spoke of a lack of communication between the governmental organizations involved in the proposal, and expressed concern about the costs from damaged crops involved with elk inhabiting an area.
“They’re shifting those costs to the people of Jefferson County,” Sullivan said.
“They haven’t thought about the economic consequences.”
Ware: Forums to come
Department of Fish and Wildlife Game Manager Dave Ware said the proposal is in a preliminary stage, which is why Jefferson County officials and the public are now being included in the discussion.
“We consider this to still be fairly early in the planning process,” Ware said Wednesday.
“We’re committed to increasing our public involvement with the public process.”
Ware said the Department of Fish and Wildlife plans to coordinate with county officials and hold public forums in Jefferson County in the future.
Sullivan agrees that is necessary.