I have to respond to the letter, “Left unsaid” (The Astorian, April 13), from Clatsop County Commissioner John Toyooka. After spending many hours researching the killing of 77 elk on private property in Surf Pines, while writing articles printed in the Cannon Beach Gazette in late October, I found many of Commissioner Toyooka’s assertions to be disingenuous at best.

I’m left to wonder if Commissioner Toyooka has actually even read the Clatsop Plains Elk Collaborative. If he had, he would know that “culling” was considered an absolute last resort in dealing with elk in the Clatsop Plains. The district wildlife biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife was heavily involved in the elk collaborative as a member of the steering committee, the elk management subcommittee and the land use subcommittee, but failed to notify most, if not all, of the other 25 members of the elk collaborative about the ongoing killing of large numbers of elk in the area.

This was a blatant violation of both the spirit and intent of the elk collaborative. This large killing also occurred during an ongoing GPS-collar joint monitoring effort between ODFW and Fort Clatsop in Lewis and Clark National Historical Park in an attempt to gather information on the local elk herds to inform the decisions of members of the elk collaborative.

Lastly, Commissioner Toyooka failed to mention in his letter that four members of his family killed elk on this particular piece of private property in Surf Pines.

BOB ATIYEH

Cannon Beach