NEWS RELEASES
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through USA Today's website.
Efforts to shoot mountain goats from a helicopter were suspended at Grand Teton National Park, after criticism from Wyoming's governor prompted Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to intervene. Bernhardt told park officials to suspend the shooting Friday night, hours after the effort began. The Park Service suspended the flights since Friday's initial effort, which was "effective towards meeting our objective," park spokeswoman Denise Germann said Monday.
Associated Press staff cover in their article, "The Park Service seeks to eradicate about 100 nonnative mountain goats for the benefit of about 100 native bighorn sheep, saying the goats compete with the sheep for food and habitat and can spread diseases including pneumonia to the native animals." Foul weather postponed a previous plan for aerial shooting in January, but Friday's weather in the Teton Range was clear and calm. Park officials closed off large portions of the mountains to the public in preparation.
To read more about the issue at Grand Teton National Park, click here.