An End to Elk on Santa Rosa

The House of Representatives set an end to the hunting of elk on Santa Rosa Island, in a footnote to a half-trillion dollar spending bill. Appropriately, the Los Angeles Times printed the story on its obituary page.

The number of non-native elk will be reduced by 25% of the present population, each year for 4 years.  This will put an end to the extremely profitable elk hunts there -- which were extremely popular among hunters wealthy enough to afford them. It will also reduce pressure on the small year-round pools of water on the island, and make life easier for the island plants and animals that have lived on Santa Rosa for tens of thousands -- instead of less than one hundred -- years.  And, it will open more of the island to more visitors, more of the time.