Capital Press Reading Activity

Another in the series of Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom non-fiction text examples to be used in your classroom. These will be available every Friday morning at 7 a.m. during the school year.

These questions are designed to use in conjunction with a selected article from the Capital Press. To obtain access to an e-edition of Capital Press FREE to educators and students visit http://www.capitalpress.com/NewspaperInEducation. For more information about this program and ways to use it in your classroom visit the program webpage. 

Article:  North Cascades elk plan done, but decisions still ahead (Page 1)

Questions:

1. What is the challenge described in this article? 
2. What entities are working together to solve this problem?
3. What are the key considerations of each of these entities identified in question two?  
4. What are the possible solutions proposed in the article? Name one drawback or constraint to each solution. 
5. If you were on the committee to determine the plan, what would you propose? What further information might you need before making a decision?

Answers: 

1. In summary, the challenge is with a large herd of elk in Skagit County Washington. The elk are doing damage to property and farms, but there was a goal to grow the herd and allow them to inhabit this area.
2. Entities involved include the Department of Fish and Wildlife, nine Point Elliott Treaty tribes and local property owners/farmers. 
3. The Department of Fish and Wildlife is responsible for the monitoring of the health and well-being of the herd, their goal was to grow the herd to 1,700 to 2,000 head. To the tribes involved, elk are important culturally and according to the article, at least one tribe will oppose more hunting. The property owners are upset with the damage on their land and crops.  
4. There are two main solutions proposed: issuing more permits for hunting and trapping and moving elk. A drawback of hunting is the risks associated with hunting especially in more populated areas and disagreement about the need to diminish the herd size. A drawback of trapping is that the herd already has hoof rot, which would risk spreading with this method.
5. Answers will vary.  

Archives of past editions are available here. 

We welcome feedback or ideas to make this program as effective as possible! Please direct your questions or suggestions about this program to Jessica Jansen, Executive Director Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom  jessica.jansen@oregonstate.edu.