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PORT ANGELES – Mountain goats on the Olympic Peninsula are about to become a thing of the past. Because the goats are non-native to Olympic National Park, are destructive to the ecosystem, and present a danger to Park visitors, about half of them (300-350) will be relocated to Forest Service lands in the Washington Cascades beginning in September in a collaborative effort between the Park, Fish and Wildlife, and the U.S. Forest Service. Any goats that cannot be removed will be killed.

Park spokeswoman Penny Wagner told KONP mountain goats were introduced to the Olympics by sports hunting groups years before the National Park existed:

The relocation plan was announced in May, and culminates an extensive public engagement and environmental impact analysis effort that began in 2014.  A 2016 population survey of the goats in the Olympic Mountains showed that their population has more than doubled since 2004 to about 625. That number is expected to grow by another 100 this year. By 2023, the population could be nearly 1,000 goats.

These same goats exist in low numbers in many areas of the North Cascades. Both the USFS and the WDFW have long been interested in restoring mountain goats to these depleted areas.

The process of removing goats will happen in three two-week phases. Phase One will be this September, and phases two and three will be next summer.

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