Federal wildlife managers say funding continues to be shut off for their longstanding efforts to remove more than 2,000 wild cattle from Alaska’s Chirikof Island.
Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge manager Steve Delehanty says earlier budget language cutting off the funding remains in place at least through early April.
The language initially was introduced with the last fiscal year’s federal budget. It prohibited spending money on efforts regarding the cattle on Chirikof, as well as a smaller herd on Alaska’s Wosnesenski Island.
The Chirikof herd descended from cattle first introduced there in the late 1880s to provide meat for whaling crews and fox traders.
The refuge has long sought to remove the non-native herd and was working on an environmental impact statement to explore different options.