An Oregon rancher is charged for an elk slaughter.

Larry Harshfield was arrested and charged with 12 counts of unlawful take of elk in a closed season, and 12 counts of waste of elk. In a press release, Pam Harshfield maintains that the couple had no choice. The harsh winter brought hordes of hungry elk to their haysheds. The elk ate hay intended for their cattle, and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife wouldn’t help out, she said in a statement, leaving them out of options. The crime, investigation and impending trial have revealed tensions over Oregon’s elk management and over land management. For the last 40 years, the Harshfields have run cattle and grown hay on their 450-acre spread, located just outside Wallowa, a burg of 800 people nestled between the granite mountains of the Eagle Cap Wilderness and the grasslands of the Zumwalt Prairie. In years past, elk and other wild game were rarely a problem, as hunters kept populations in check. Over the past few decades, however, elk populations in Oregon have ballooned. In the area where the Harshfields live, ODFW says this is due to landowners limiting hunting access on private land. In a written statement, Pam Harshfield, who did not admit to their involvement with the slaughter, explained they became frustrated with that increase. Twenty years ago, a small herd of 15 to 20 elk began visiting their ranch. The herd grew over the years, reaching around 200 this last winter by the Harshfields’ estimates. But by then, the elk were eating directly from their haysheds. Unlike in neighboring states like Washington and Idaho, in Oregon private property owners are not compensated for losses incurred by elk. ODFW will give property owners alfalfa seed, fencing and netting to keep elk away.They also offer mitigation tactics like hazing permits, emergency hunt tags and kill permits to private property owners. The kill permits require the owner dress and deliver the meat so it can be distributed to needy families. The Harshfields, who have a hazing permit, turned down a kill permit because it was too time consuming, according to Pam Harshfield’s statement.