Flying Goats
A travel writing assignment about environment or wildlife in a particular place in which I discuss, well ... flying goats.
The first time I saw a mountain goat dangling from a helicopter, I stared for a while, attempting to comprehend what I was looking at. The second time I saw a mountain goat dangling from a helicopter, I knew it wasn’t an odd one-off search and rescue mission.
Just days later, stoic white haired beasts began appearing. Perched on the point of Rattlesnake Ridge. Roaming the edges of Rattlesnake Lake. Strolling next to the Cedar River Watershed Education Center. Even grazing through front yards on 161st st. Many who have lived here for over twenty years exclaim that they have never once seen a goat before. Others who have resided in North Bend for 50+ recall a time when the once abundant mountain goat population began declining. Almost all of us turned to the internet to ponder why only now they began suddenly wandering so close to town and investigated why the helicopters continued to pass overhead. Where were they coming from? And why?
As it turns out, they were coming from the Olympic National Forest. In the 1920’s, around a dozen mountain goats were transplanted from Alaska and Canada to the Olympics in efforts to establish a population for hunting. However, mountain goats are not native to the Olympic Mountain environment which lacks the salt licks they are attracted to. In search of a new source of sodium, the population migrated toward hiking routes, drawn by the scent of sweat, urine, and salty snacks. As the populations of goats and PNW hikers grew simultaneously, goats became used to being in close contact with humans, and hikers became accustomed to seeing and avoiding these beautiful animals and their 10in long horns.
Then, In 2010, a hiker was killed by a male mountain goat he had attempted to shoo off a trail in Olympic National Park.
Over the same century, the native mountain goat population of the Cascade Mountain Range plummeted, primarily due to hunting. By 2010, it was understood that the declining population was also extremely vulnerable to climate change. Their natural habitat is rapidly changing and with that change comes the added stress of humans enjoying a longer season of accessible alpine wilderness.
Relocating a displaced population to a location where the species is native, over the course of four years, seemed to be the solution to two concerns. However, in the attempt to repair one aspect of an ecosystem unmeasurably interrupted and altered by human society, this four year plan instead made obvious the imbalances in human relationship with the wildlife.
Every few days, the local Facebook group clammers with excitement and concern. Steve spots a pair of mountain goats from his deck. Barbara worries “These animals can be aggressive. There are way too many people at Rattlesnake for this to be a good thing.” Karen wonders “why would they relocate them here? Seems like they are just trading one problem for another, maybe I’m missing something?” Danielle laments “seriously people, they were here before we were. And geez maybe they have to wander into the areas we’ve claimed as our own because that’s where they used to be.” But these particular goats “used to be” miles away in the Olympic Forest and their ancestors “used to be” even further away, in Alaska and Canada. Our ancestors are the ones who first displaced this population for sport and hunted the native one for food, sport, and to keep them away from endangered foliage. Teri even recalls, on Facebook, a cougar being brought into town in the 90’s in an attempt to kill off Mountain Goats near the blueberry farm.
By August of 2020, the sight of sedated goats hanging from bright blankets which dangle from helicopters passing overhead had become normal. Hikers are warned to keep a distance from the lone goat who roams the Rattlesnake Recreation Area. When you reach the summit of a hike and a large ivory colored mountain goat clamors calmly in your direction, instinctually seeking the sodium which your body creates, It becomes uncomfortably clear how deeply we have influenced the current nature of wildlife. She has been repeatedly escorted deep into the North Cascades but returns each time, no longer confused by her surroundings as if this low elevation human society is her true native habitat and tranq darts and helicopters are natural factors driving a seasonal migration.
Sources:
https://crosscut.com/environment/2020/08/olympic-goats-take-final-flight-their-new-cascade-home
https://nwtreatytribes.org/north-cascades-mountain-goats-threatened-climate-change/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/842385432440555/
