A18
NEWS
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
WESTERN INNOVATOR
He’s the point man on elk intrusion
By DON JENKINS
EO Media Group
RANDY GOOD
T
o focus minds on the
damage caused by
elk, Western Wash-
ington cattleman Randy
Good talks to decision-mak-
ers, organizes bus tours,
seeks allies and attends
meeting after meeting.
He’s been at it for sev-
eral years. Asked if he’s seen
results, he says “no,” but
that he won’t give up.
“I learned a long time
ago, you just keep at it and
sooner or later, you’ll hit the
right person,” said Good,
70.
Good has been at the
forefront of a long-running
struggle by eastern Skagit
County landowners to get
elk off their pastures and
fi elds. Farmers report exten-
sive damage to fences, pas-
tures, hay bales and plants.
They worry about elk drop-
pings contaminating crops
and elk spreading hoof dis-
ease to livestock.
An ongoing survey of
farmers suggests elk are
causing roughly $1.5 mil-
lion damage to agriculture a
year, according to the Skagit
County Assessor’s Offi ce.
Good estimates his losses at
$46,000 a year because he’s
had to abandon raising beef
cattle in a fi eld occupied by
elk. “It’s a sad, sad situa-
tion,” he said.
Fish and Wildlife and
Native American tribes
imported elk from Mount St.
Helens in 2003 and 2005 to
enlarge the North Cascades
herd. The plan worked.
The department agrees too
many elk have moved from
the hills, where they were
released, onto agricultural
land.
Fish and Wildlife and
tribes have helped land-
owners haze elk and put up
fences, but landowners say
the problem has outgrown
Age: 70
Job: Rancher, former
dairy farmer
Positions: Vice presi-
dent of Skagit County
Cattlemen’s Association,
president of Friends of
Skagit County
Education: Skagit Valley
Community College
Cause: Getting elk off
farms and ranches,
including his, in eastern
Skagit County, Wash.
Don Jenkins/Capital Press
Sedro-Woolley, Wash., rancher Randy Good stands in his fi eld and by a fence damaged by elk. Elk are a continuous problem for
farms in eastern Skagit County, as Good continuously reminds the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
hazing and fences.
The department issues
some kill permits to let
landowners shoot an elk,
but the permits are meant to
control damage and are too
few to stop the herd from
growing. At least some of
the nine tribes involved in
managing the herd oppose
more hunting.
Lawmakers directed Fish
and Wildlife to reduce the
number of elk on farmland,
but the department has not
had any apparent success.
State Sen. Keith Wag-
oner, a Republican who
represents eastern Skagit
County, said Good and
allies have kept the issue in
front of wildlife offi cials.
“They have their atten-
tion. I’m sure they do,”
said Wagoner, who said
he’s interested in testing
beefed-up fencing to keep
elk off farms. “I think it’s
been very helpful. Randy
has been persistent to the
point of annoyance.”
Good’s remarks — writ-
ten and verbal — about
Fish and Wildlife’s inabil-
ity to move elk are pointed.
He delivers the comments
as a landowner, vice presi-
dent of the Skagit County
Cattlemen’s
Association
and president of the Friends
of Skagit County, a group
founded to promote protec-
tion of rural land.
Asked if he’s enjoying
the political arena at all, he
says no.
“I’d rather be home farm-
ing all the time,” he said.
For more than three
decades, Good and his wife,
Aileen, had a dairy farm.
Good now raises beef cat-
tle on a fi eld not occupied
by elk.
In lobbying Fish and
Wildlife for action, he’s
joined by other landowners,
such as beef rancher John
Jonasson, who fi gures elk
have breached his fences 25
to 30 times.
“Randy does most of the
actual coordinating,” Jon-
asson said. “He’s doing an
outstanding job. He’s been
staying in their face about it.
He’s not going to back down
if he knows he’s right.”
Good organized a bus
tour in early December
for new Fish and Wildlife
Director Kelly Susewind to
see the elk. Good said he
was hoping for four hours,
but got two. The tour ended
at a library, where farmers
described the damages.
“Randy did a great job
on that. He had everything
timed down to the minute,”
Jonasson said.
Good has organized other
bus tours and also gone to
Olympia.
Last April, Good, Jonas-
son and three other Skagit
County residents went to
a Fish and Wildlife Com-
mission meeting and spoke
during the period when peo-
ple have three minutes to
talk about whatever they
want.
Good presented the case
in his typical way.
First, he reminded the
commissioners of their role.
“You are our only voice
with the DFW,” Good said.
He stated the problem: “Our
frustrations are at a tip-
ping point in eastern Skagit
County with the intrusion
of elk onto our agricultural
valley fl oor for the past 10
years.”
Then, he quoted state
law: Nothing in Fish and
Wildlife’s mandate shall
be construed to infringe on
landowners controlling their
property.
“Please advise the DFW
to follow the law as man-
dated,” Good said.
Several Fish and Wild-
life commissioners agreed
something should be done.
Jonasson said their cause
usually gets a good recep-
tion in Olympia.
“We do feel generally
pretty good when we leave
there,” he said. “But at some
point, a human being needs
results, not just talk.”
Good said he learned a lot
about working in the public
arena beginning in the early
1990s by being on a com-
mittee that advises a high
school agricultural program.
“You don’t want advisory
committees to be a rubber
stamp for the government,”
he said.
Good’s tips for farmer
involvement include: Doc-
ument everything, attend
every meeting possible, fi nd
allies who are willing to
speak up and get to the top
offi cials.
“I learned many years ago
you have to get to the right
person and inform them, or
otherwise you’re spinning
your wheels,” he said.
Thank you
Wallowa County
for your support in 2018.
We look forward to serving
all your needs in 2019!
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