What began as an emergency measure - to help Wyoming elk herds hit by a series of extremely harsh winters in 1909 - has become a major source of contention over Wyoming Game and Fish s continued, annual practice of feeding elk throughout the winter at 22 state-operated sites. The agency has defended the practice as a way to keep populations high for hunters. But Kelsey Yarzab - associate organizer with the Sierra Club Wyoming Chapter - said it s short sighted to continue luring elk to potentially catastrophic super-spreader sites. .
Opponents of a plan to allow hunters to kill more black bears in New Mexico over the next four years say escalating climate-change threats faced by wildlife are not being considered. The state s Department of Game and Fish took public comments on the proposal last week. Mary Katherine Ray, wildlife chair for the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club, said even though the increased number of bear kills is small, none of the density studies have been peer-approved or published. .