OLYMPIA — A bill directing Washington State University to establish an elk monitoring system in Southwest Washington and to assess causes and potential solutions for elk hoof disease is poised to become law.
Amended Senate Bill 5474 passed the state House Monday with a 98-0 vote. The amended bill now heads back to the state Senate for a second approval. The original measure made it through the Senate the first time with a 49-0 vote.
The House bill adds an amendment that calls for the state to develop rules for the capture and transport of live elk from an area affected by hoof rot to another area.
“It’s a real positive. It really means, for first time, we’re taking a scientific, clinical, disease approach in a proactive manner…” to the issue, said Mark Smith, owner of Eco Park along the upper North Fork of the Toutle River.
Sightings of diseased elk shambling along with deformed, broken, or missing hooves have increased dramatically in Southwest Washington in the past decade.
More than a decade ago, Smith said, the disease was only found in one or two counties. Now, he said, the disease has spread to nearly every county west of the Cascades.
Sightings of elk with hoof rot have been reported by the public in the Willapa Hills, Mount St. Helens, south Olympic Peninsula, the Skagit River valley and northern Oregon.
“We’ve seen (hoof rot) infest 60 to 80 percent of the elk herds in my area,” Smith said of the upper Toutle River.
The spread of hoof rot has had a significant affect on hunters, who spend tens of millions of dollars every year in Washington. But it is not the only industry affected.
“It’s having a major negative impact on businesses across the state, especially tourism,” Smith said. “No one want to come her to see sick elk.”
