Skeptical about goat impacts in La Sals

Dear Editor,

I read with interest about the 35 Rocky Mountain goats transplanted to the La Sal Mountains two years ago, and how nonprofit organizations like Wild Utah Project/ Grand Canyon Trust, which provide scientific support to conservation groups and work collaboratively with state and federal agencies, came to a conclusion that the goats are trampling and grazing on rare and sensitive plants (“Big game vs. rare plants,” July 30 – Aug. 5, 2015 Moab Sun News).

Another concern mentioned that the mountain goats require a higher-elevation habitat than that of desert bighorn sheep, as the La Sals do not have a large enough habitat to support the mountain goats.

I had to shake my head at the skewed and biased conclusions.

Really? Seventeen researchers from July 16 to July 18 were on the mountain for only three whole days tracking goats, looking for evidence of destruction, and came to that kind of conclusion? That is not much of a reliable scientific study in my opinion.

A human carries a lot more weight with two footprints than a goat with four. Was anyone tracking and looking at what the 17 humans were doing?

The article mentioned the goats require a higher-elevation habitat to really thrive, and yet they are still alive after two years. Just like in the movie “Jurassic Park,” life has found a way. I bet with a more reliable longitudinal study, the flowers in question will continue to thrive and survive as well.

I really question if Wild Utah Project/ Grand Canyon Trust can provide accurate and non-biased information. Their findings don’t strike me as being very scientific or reliable. It really gets my goat!