Two bull elk were illegally shot and killed in the park during separate incidents this past week. Early last Friday, the park received a report of possible poaching in the area of Two Ocean and Emma Matilda lakes. Three men suspected of poaching the elk were contacted by rangers the next day. The men, all from Lander, Wyoming, were in the process of removing an elk carcass from the kill site near the north shore of Emma Matilda Lake. Rangers confiscated the elk and issued citations. One hunter was cited for illegally hunting in a national park and a second hunter was cited for possessing a weapon illegally in a national park. The third hunter was not cited. On Saturday, rangers who were en route to the poaching scene discovered an elk that had been shot illegally by a minor who was accompanied by his father, both again Wyoming residents. The bull elk was killed approximately one mile down Pacific Creek Road from Highway 89. The elk was confiscated and citations were issued. All charges in both incidents carry mandatory appearances in federal court. The park works closely with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Elk Refuge, and Wyoming Game and Fish to establish hunt quotas aimed at achieving an optimum bull to cow ratio. Poaching, in addition to being illegal, makes the job of accurately estimating herd numbers difficult and hinders wildlife management efforts.
