OLYMPIC NATIONAL FOREST — After months of harassing wild mountain goats in Olympic National Forest, rangers will reopen Monday a popular hiking trail northwest of Hoodsport that had been closed because of overly assertive members of the horned, shaggy species.
And hikers on the Mount Ellinor Trail are being told: Go ahead and throw rocks at the animals.
Just don’t feed them.
Forest Service rangers will be on hand for the reopening of both the upper and lower portions of Mount Ellinor Trail No. 812 in Olympic National Forest on Monday, said Donna Nemeth, the public affairs officer for the national forest.
Both sections of the trail had been closed since July 3 after four separate groups of hikers reported numerous mountain goats doggedly approaching them in a search for food and the salt humans expel when sweating, Nemeth said.
The goats, up to 20 of which had been observed in the Mount Ellinor area, had become used to hikers feeding them and no longer had a natural aversion to humans, Nemeth said.
The goats sought out hikers as easy sources of food, she said.
Forest rangers closed the trail so wildlife biologists could focus on “monitoring and aversive-conditioning actions.”
Translation: yelling at goats, sounding loud horns to scare them away, throwing rocks and shooting them with paintball guns.
Scaring goats
After biologist spent the summer making the mountain goats think twice about approaching humans, forest rangers believe the assertive goats in the Mount Ellinor area have redeveloped enough of an aversion to humans to allow the reopening of the popular 6.2-mile trail, Nemeth said.
The trail could be closed again, however, if hikers continue to report aggressive goats approaching humans for food, she added.
Additionally, biologists will continue the conditioning actions for an as-yet-undetermined amount of time while the trail is opened.
“[Stopping the conditioning actions] is dependent on the goats’ behavior,” Nemeth said.
With wildlife biologists and rangers doing their part, Nemeth said, the trail remaining open also is dependent on hikers.
Rangers will remind hikers not to approach mountain goats at any time, even for pictures, and to urinate at least half the length of a football field away from the trail.
The salt and minerals found in human urine can be as attractive to mountain goats as conventional food items, Nemeth explained.
“That’s why we’re asking people, when nature calls, to go well off the trail,” she said.
If hikers see any goats while on the trail, they are encouraged to yell, wave clothing and throw rocks to keep the goats at least 50 yards away, Nemeth said.
It’s also the hiker’s responsibility, however, to stay at least 50 yards away from mountain goats, and all wildlife, while hiking anywhere in Olympic National Forest, Nemeth said.
“If people can initiate keeping a distance, that would be our preference,” she said.
“Keep in mind that they are wild animals, and we need the public to help keep them wild.”
Be wary of large males
Forest rangers also are warning hikers to be especially wary of the largest mountain goats, typically the males of the species, from October through December because that three-month period is the goats’ mating season, Nemeth said.
Nemeth said male mountain goats will be especially aggressive as they vie with their fellow bucks for the attention of females of the species.
It was a 370-pound male mountain goat that fatally gored Robert Boardman, a 63-year-old Port Angeles resident, in the thigh on a trail at Klahhane Ridge in Olympic National Park in October 2010.
Boardman was trying to protect his wife, Susan Chadd, and other hikers when the mountain goat attacked and inflicted lethal wounds on the man.
Boardman’s attack
The attack against Boardman happened about 75 miles northeast of Mount Ellinor.
Olympic National Forest surrounds the national park.
Boardman’s widow, Susan Chadd, plans to proceed with a portion of her lawsuit against the National Parks Service that were not thrown out by a federal judge at the end of August of this year.
This portion of the lawsuit alleges employees of the park failed to summon a Coast Guard helicopter in a timely matter to retrieve Boardman from the portion of the trail where the mountain goat had gored him, resulting in his death through blood loss.
________
Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
