Montana Senate tells Wyoming to stop feeding elk

The Montana Senate has voted to tell Wyoming and federal wildlife officials to stop feeding elk outside Yellowstone National Park.

The resolution passed 50-0 Friday over concerns the feeding grounds increase the transmission of diseases that can be spread north into Montana.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Wyoming wildlife officials provide hay and alfalfa during the winter at nearly two dozen feeding sites, including the National Elk Refuge.

Wyoming provides the supplemental feeding to keep elk from eating hay on private land and to keep the population high for hunting.

Democratic Sen. Mike Phillips of Bozeman says he hopes that Montana U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke’s appointment as President Donald Trump’s interior secretary will lead to an end to the practice.

The resolution must pass the Montana House before it is sent to Wyoming and federal officials.