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| 9/11/2003 | Email this article • Print this article
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| This mountain goat poses on the Hurricane Divide in the Eagle Cap Wilderness. Photo by Vic Coggins/ODFW |
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Mountain goat tags extremely hard to get
By Rocky Wilson
of the Chieftain
The most difficult hunting tag to get in the state of Oregon is a tag to hunt Rocky Mountain goats. Only four tags will be awarded within the state this year; two from the Elkhorn Mountain area in Baker County and two from the vicinity of the Hurricane and Hurwal divides within the Eagle Cap Wilderness in Wallowa County.
Last year 2,503 applications were submitted for Elkhorn tags and 2,632 applications were turned in for Hurricane Creek tags. The lucky winners, as in the past, were selected in a statewide lottery. A goat tag can only be granted once in a lifetime.
Rocky Mountain goats frequent extremely steep terrain and are not hunted by adventurers who are less than physically fit. Goats are noted for being very sure footed.
The white, visually fluffy goats were considered extinct to the Wallowa Mountains until the 1950s when the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) reintroduced mountain goats in the region. Since then herds have grown by additional transplants and through natural propagation until there are some 200 mountain goats in the Eagle Cap Wilderness. Mountain goat numbers are at their highest levels since the 1950s.
The herd increased to about 40 goats in the 1960s, then was cut back considerably as hunting was again allowed. The limited tag program was then initiated to prevent another crisis.
As recently as July 16, 2003 18 goats were trapped in the Elkhorn Mountains and transplanted to the P.O. Saddle Area in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area (HCNRA). ODFW Game Biologist Pat Matthews said that 10 adults, four month-old kids and four yearlings were captured in a drop net situated over a salt block. Then the animals were individually crated and hauled by pickup to be released that evening at the P.O. Saddle site, located above Hells Canyon dam. The adult goats were equipped with radio collars and both blood samples and bacteria samples were taken.
Another small group of 16 goats was released three years ago near Hat Point, said Matthews, and has now expanded to a herd of some 40 goats.
No hunting is allowed on the HCNRA goat herds, although a hunt may be allowed near Cusick Mountain in the Imnaha basin next year.
Based on fossils excavated in Hells Canyon around 1913 and from Indian petroglyphs, it is assumed that mountain goats were once indigenous to Northeast Oregon.
Northeast Oregon is the only place in the state where mountain goats can be found.
The goat herds in the Elkhorn Mountains are doing so well that they have been trapped more than once to be seed stock for other areas. Prior to the 18 goats relocated from the Elkhorns in July, another 20 goats were captured and released last year to a site around Cornucopia near the town of Halfway.
Most persons fortunate enough to win a lottery tag hire an experienced guide to take them high into the rugged mountains where the animals live. Mountain goat season in 2003 will last from Sept. 6 through Sept. 17.
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