Feeding phase-out agreed to at Bridger-Teton feedground

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department will eliminate an elk feedground in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in coming years.

The Jackson Hole News & Guide reports the Alkali Creek feedground is among three state operated feedgrounds located in the Gros Ventre River valley. It had been authorized for long-term use in 2015.

The plan developed by Forest Service and Wyoming wildlife managers will allow emergency elk feeding at Alkali for five years and then end the operation by 2024.

The Forest Service could grant another five-year extension of the emergency feeding permit, which would continue the controversial means of managing elk until as late as 2029.

The proposed plan is now open for public comment.

AP Only 2019