June 8, 2002

By Todd Hartman, News Staff Writer hartmant@RockyMountainNews.com  303-892-5048

A northern Colorado elk rancher whose animals were slaughtered at a public expense of up to $570,000 to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease has restocked his ranch with hundreds of elk, apparently in defiance of government rules.

Mark Mitchell, owner of the Trophy Mountain Elk Ranch in Cowdrey, near the Wyoming border, said he did everything legally. In fact, he said, the Colorado Department of Agriculture was aware he was restocking the ranch in recent months and approved his actions.

But officials with two state agencies combating CWD said Friday they have a different view.

"We're surprised as well as alarmed," said Linh Truong, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Agriculture.

Fuming privately, officials with the Division of Wildlife wouldn't say so publicly. Instead, agency director Russell George said he needed more information before he would comment.

At the heart of the concern is a mutant protein, called a prion and which is believed to cause CWD, that appears to remain viable in the soil for long periods, perhaps years.

Because of that, the government has moved cautiously in deciding when, or if, former elk ranchers can restock their lands.

Agricultural officials desperately want to avoid killing off another infected elk ranch. In the last five months, state and federal workers have slaughtered more than 3,000 captive elk in Colorado to contain the spread of the disease, a costly, stomach-churning ordeal.

Wildlife managers, meanwhile, fear infected elk ranches act as disease clusters that can spread CWD to wild deer and elk that may enter the ranch or contact captive animals through fences. Diseased wild animals also can infect ranches.

The government euthanized, then incinerated about 200 of Mitchell's elk in February, after three elk were found with wasting disease last fall.

As part of the arrangement, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reimbursed the rancher up to $2,850 per animal.

But the deal also required ranchers to abide by a herd management plan when it comes to restarting their business. The USDA, Colorado Department of Agriculture and Colorado Division of Wildlife all -- supposedly -- were to have a say on how the ranchers could proceed.

Mitchell said he never signed a herd management plan, but added that he went ahead with restocking his hunting ranch after discussions with the state Department of Agriculture.

He didn't deal with the USDA or the Division of Wildlife, he said.

He pointed out that because his ranch is a shooting ranch, elk never leave it alive.

"My license is issued by the Department of Agriculture," Mitchell said. "According to state law, those are the only people I need to answer to. The Division of Wildlife has no legal jurisdiction over me."

Had he waited for the Division of Wildlife's approval before moving animals onto his grasslands, he would have gone out of business, Mitchell said.

"(The division's) main objective is (to put elk ranchers) out of business," Mitchell said. "If they can regulate you, or stall you out of business (they will)."

Mitchell said he moved about 160 elk from a nearby holding facility onto his property this spring, while bringing in another 160 from other places during the same period. He said he needed to move them onto his formerly closed lands so they had grass to eat. State agricultural inspectors approved things at every step of the way, he said.

Truong couldn't say Friday whether her agency did indeed approve of Mitchell's actions.

"Right now I'm trying to find out exactly what was approved of him to do, what was not, and who said what," Truong said.

The discovery that Mitchell restocked his ranch is the latest development to stoke tensions between the wildlife division and agriculture departments.

Trophy Mountain was the same facility that stirred anger between agencies last fall, when the Department of Agriculture didn't consult with the Division of Wildlife before allowing Mitchell to bring in about 160 elk from a Montana ranch.

Agriculture officials said the communications mix-up was unintentional.

Division of Wildlife officials also reluctantly agreed to spend up to $300,000 to put a lengthy second fence around Mitchell's ranch to add a layer of protection for wild animals, as biologists say the facility intersects a significant migration route for wildlife.

Critics see the fence as a lucrative subsidy for a private enterprise, and note that some other elk ranchers have built double fences at their own expense.

"It's been a terrible struggle," said George, on the conflicts surrounding Trophy Mountain.

For his part, Mitchell has long held that the government is using a heavy hand when it comes to CWD -- a disease he regards as overblown by regulators and the press. CWD, he predicted, has been forever eradicated from elk ranches.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_1196355,00.html