The Olympic Mountains are similar in climate and vegetation to the Cascades where lot’s of mountain goats dwell. When the Olympic National Park was formed (1936) there was a healthy population of goats in the Olympics - some in the park, some outside of it. In those early days, the NPS (park service) made the goats sort of the official mascot. They used pictures of goats in some of their literature. They put out salt licks on Klahanee Ridge which attracted the goats (they seem to be addicted to salt - which they need) Visitors driving up to Hurricane Ridge could usually get a good view of the goats. My late wife was physically unable to do much walking and used to enjoy watching them - Nowhere else could one see them close up without extensive hiking.

In the early-nineties, the Park Service management did an about face in their attitude. A new philosophy (Bruce Babbitt) took over the Interior Dept. That philosophy said that anything placed by man should be eliminated from the park. They proceeded to eliminate the goats. About 400 were captured and moved to other parks. In the process a number (estimated to be about the same number captured) were killed. Somehow an original estimate of 1200 goats was reduced to nearly nil. An ABC news crew came to PA and enlisted Keith Gunnar, (a professional photographer who had photographed them extensively) to guide them on a helicopter jaunt to see the goats. Checking their regular haunts, they were only able to find nine of the critters.

The NPS was operating on the knowledge that in the 1920s a group of sportsmen had obtained some goats (about a dozen) from Alaska and released them in the Olympics, on the assumption there were no goats in the Olympics at the time. (Though, in fact nobody really knew what was in the Olympics at the time. There were no roads and the hiking [without plastics] was very difficult) When goat lovers strenuously objected, the NPS bureaucrats declared that there was no written history of any goats in the Olympics so the 1920s plant were the parents of all Olympic goats.

But, some folks started digging through old writings and found quite a few references to goats in the Olympic Mountains that pre-dated the 1920s plant. A notable one was in the National Geographic in 1896. Bureaucrats do not change course easily. They declared that all the writers were “wrong” and proceeded to get rid of the goats. After getting rid of most, they declared their intention to shoot the rest. A considerable clamor erupted - quite a lot of it coming from “environmental” groups who are normally the NPS’s stalwart friends. And some folks pointed out that goats in the Olympics existed outside the park - where they really had no authority. (State F&W was not pleased)

The NPS declared the goats were damaging rare plant life and digging up the ground. Goat lovers pointed out the digging was the goats trying to get at some of the salt that had seeped into the ground at the former salt licks. (People fault, not goat fault). Finally, in desperation, the NPS decided to do an Environmental Impact statement. (First one anybody had heard of done after the fact). They used that stall for several years while the goat population began to rebound.

Well, the dust has settled and the goats are pretty much back. Lately, there has been quite a furor about a male goat that became aggressive and threatened hikers. (Males of all species - including human - sometimes get mean). Recently, a hiker, Bob Boardman, made complaints to the Park authorities about that goat - yet, strangely, Boardman kept going back to the same area and encountering the same goat. Finally, tragedy happened when the goat gored Boardman and stood over him for some time as he lost blood. Eventually, they were able to get to him and haul him out, but he subsequently died, apparently from loss of blood. His family is suing. But questions remain: Why did he keep going back to where he knew that goat was and by his own statements, was dangerous? And what of his two companions? Why did they not go to his rescue and run off the goat? They may not of had a weapon, but there is never a shortage of wood in the park. And just who is at fault?

And who said it was the government’s responsibility to protect people from the park’s wildlife? What about cougars, bears, Bull Elk?

My question: Could it be that the NPS people are working to divorce the goats from the public popularity that defeated their earlier attempt to eliminate the goats?