In the Paradise Valley north of Yellowstone National Park, elk have become a common sight. That’s good news for hunters but can tax landowners who grow tired of elk breaking fences, raiding haystacks and feeding in agricultural fields. Elk also carry the disease brucellosis which can be spread to unvaccinated cattle. In an attempt to encourage elk to stay off private lands where they aren’t welcome, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition and Property and Environment Research Center collaborated to connect a donor with a landowner. Money from the donor paid for a fence to allow the landowner to create a place for elk to winter while attempting to keep them separated from cattle. To learn more about the collaboration, check out my story at https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/nonprofits-craft-agreement-to-benefit-wildlife-landowner-in-paradise-valley/article_53440b3b-e012-59e6-8904-d218978ba2fa.html.
Written by Brett French | Outdoors Editor for the Billings Gazette
