Del Norte officials and state wildlife staff outline steps and limits to curb elk overpopulation and hoof disease

Carrington Helsen, the Elk Research Biologist for California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Northern Region, told the Del Norte County Fish and Game Commission that officials are trying to reduce elk-related conflicts, expand hunting opportunity and lower disease transmission while also supporting elk on lands where they are welcome. “So we want to reduce conflict,” Helsen said, adding that officials also aim to “reduce transmission” of treponeme-associated hoof disease, or TAD, and “increase suitable habitat.”

Helsen described the local herd counts and how the department uses minimum counts, radio collars and samples from captured and hunter-harvested animals to guide management. She said the department counted a minimum of 366 elk in 2019 and 484 in the most recent minimum count, and that staff have lethally removed 142 elk between Del Norte and Humboldt counties, with the majority removed near Crescent City. “We first confirmed this disease in 2020,” Helsen said, and emphasized that diagnostic confirmation currently requires post‑mortem hoof samples, limiting testing of live animals.

Chad Dibble, deputy director for the department’s Wildlife and Fisheries Division, described the Sacramento office’s role and said the agency is “here to listen, we’re here to participate, and we’re trying to find some resolution.” Kevin Thomas, deputy director for Regional Operations, and other regional staff including Scott Gardner and Mario Klipp attended and answered technical and regulatory questions about tags, PLM (public land management) enrollment and possible depredation permits.

Department staff said the primary tools available now are hunting tags and targeted lethal removal of clinically affected animals. Helsen said share-hunt allotments and landowner tags have increased, but many eligible tags went unused last year: the department did not issue 41 share tags and also left unissued 5 bull tags and 18 corresponding landowner tags. She described limits to using share hunts in urbanized areas and noted compensation caps for participating properties—“we’re maxed out at $30 an acre” for some programs, she said—creating barriers for some landowners to enroll.

On disease, Helsen and staff said TAD is multifactorial, associated with high elk densities, wet substrates and likely multiple microbes; she emphasized there is currently no evidence that TAD transmits between elk and cattle. “Currently there is no data to support that this disease is transmitted to or from cattle,” Helsen said. Staff said they are collaborating with Washington State University on research and are developing a live-animal swab test using PCR, but that test remains in development.

Residents urged faster, more forceful action. Jeff Reed of the Lake Earl Grange told the commission: “Working on it is no longer an acceptable response.” Dutch Gardner, a local farmer who said he closed his business in August because of elk damage, told the commissioners: “There’s more elk, more elk, more elk. So what’s the use of having these meetings?”

Staff described additional options they are exploring: expanding PLM enrollments (which may require supplemental environmental documents and commission approval), more aggressive outreach to recruit private properties into share hunts, depredation permits where legally permitted, and habitat-restoration projects using grants or bond funds that could draw elk onto public lands. The department noted constraints: depredation carcasses currently may be required by code to be disposed of rather than retained for meat except by tribal partners, and some actions would require commission or legislative changes.

Discussion also covered non-lethal measures. Staff described past trials—camera monitoring, paintballing individual elk to track movements, temporary cattle moves—which had mixed results. Several residents and commissioners said private fencing, targeted exclusion and managed grazing on public lands could help, but noted those solutions require funding and sustained labor. Mario Klipp, program manager for game conservation and connectivity, said connectivity work aims to reduce animal-vehicle collisions and maintain movement corridors but is a separate program from the harvest and disease response.

No formal motions or votes were taken at the meeting. Commissioners and department staff agreed to continue stakeholder engagement, to provide local removal counts and maps on request, and to pursue internal and interagency options including grant opportunities and commission-level discussions about PLM expansions and season changes.

The department advised residents on contacts for specific issues: Brent Wolf for regulation and season questions, Victoria Barr for share and PLM contract enrollment, Emma Lance the wildlife veterinarian, and Kiana (unit biologist) for local conflict coordination. The agency said some regulatory changes can take nearly a year to adopt because they must pass through the Wildlife Resources Committee, Fish and Game Commission public notice and adoption processes.

Residents asked the department to prioritize timely, local responses and to provide clearer tracking of removals and disease-confirmed cases. Department staff committed to returning requested numbers and maps and to continuing conversations with county officials, tribes and local stakeholders.