SEQUIM – Love may not be all the Dungeness elk need.
What people want – wildlife viewing near the highway, a few miles from downtown – isn’t the same as what’s good for the elk, said Jeremy Sage, a wildlife biologist who, until Thursday, represented the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe.
The tribe and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife co-manage the Dungeness herd of Roosevelt elk, which number about 60 now.
Almost exactly one year ago, the tribe announced that rapid development in Sequim was squeezing out the herd.
Moving them out of the area was the best thing for the herd’s long-range health, tribal officials said then.
After many discussions about relocation, a public forum was held Aug. 29 in Sequim.
Outcry from local residents ran long into the night, and months later residents were still writing letters of protest to Fish and Wildlife.
