Elk killed to test for radioactivity

RICHLAND – Three elk were killed at the Hanford Reach National Monument to conduct tests to determine if they had been contaminated by radioactivity from the Hanford nuclear site.

Officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tracked the herd of about 700 elk early Tuesday morning and shot three animals.

Initial Geiger counter tests of the elk showed no indication of contamination. Scientists from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, a national science laboratory under the U.S. Department of Energy, also took bone, liver and muscle samples for future tests.

Results will influence whether more of the animals will have to be killed.

The rapidly reproducing elk herd has found the Hanford Reach to be the perfect refuge, with no hunting, plenty of food in nearby farms and few natural predators. In the process, the animals have angered farmers and sparked debate about how to manage the growing population.

Officials with the Fish & Wildlife Service, which manages the Hanford Reach monument, say they need to cull the herd by about 100 animals by winter’s end.

But officials have said no private hunting will be allowed in the protected area this season. Instead, special hunting permits have been issued to private hunters to kill any elk that wander off the Hanford Reach to forage.