Another wildfire impact: Livestock carcasses that could attract scavengers

Gov. Butch Otter noted another impact of the wildfires in Idaho this year: The Elk Complex fire has left behind about 100 head of cattle and 100 head of sheep that were burned up in the wildfire. “Have we notified Fish & Game about those carcasses out there and what may happen?” he asked state Forester David Groeschl, who was briefing the state Land Board this morning about the fire season. Groeschl said he’ll check.

“I think we should, so that they know where those locations are,” Otter said, “because the scavengers will be collecting up, and we don’t need any more disease problems than we’ve already got.” He also said the state should “have a plan to execute salvage as quickly as we can on our acres” that burned, because there’s only a two-year window to salvage burned timber. “We ought to have a plan ready to execute right away,” Otter said. Groeschl said it’s in the works.