Elk Hunt Begins in Grand Teton National Park

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — Elk hunting has kicked off in two units east of the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park.

Park spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs tells the Associated Press the annual hunt, dubbed the "elk reduction program" by the National Park Service, began Saturday and is targeting 725 animals this year.

Skaggs says that this fall, the park has eliminated bull tags for the first time and will focus solely on females and calves. Because it did nothing to slow growth of the herd, the bull hunt had been a target for critics in years past.

The 1950 congressional legislation that designated Grand Teton a national park allowed the "controlled reduction" of elk in the park.