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  Home Page » News » Critics Line Up Take Shots At Elk Research Institute

Critics line up, take shots at Elk Research Institute

by Garrett Andrews
Herald Staff Writer

For a nonprofit research center based in tiny, unincorporated Hesperus, the Elk Research Institute has an unnatural share of critics.

Hunting groups, research scientists, neighbors, Fort Lewis College and Colorado State University have offered some variation of the same claim: The institute is a fenced hunting operation on public land that uses unethical methods to raise money under the table, and insists its sham research objective is scientific to maintain nonprofit status.

"Elk-hunting park," said Brad Bartel, president of FLC.

"Shooting arena," said local naturalist author Dave Petersen.

"I won't even call it 'hunting,'" he said. "I call it 'caged killing.'"

Its refusal to participate in joint research constituted a breach of its sublease with CSU, said Jason L. Johnson, an attorney for the university.

And what research is being conducted is "arbitrary," said Matt Dunfee, director of the Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance.

The issue's gotten personal for some.

"There's a sort of bad person in this world, and they always seem to get their way," said Bruce Kowalski, a Hesperus resident and retired scientist. "Not this time."

Residents have met in their living rooms to discuss plans of action. Letters to politicians calling for accountability have been drafted and signed en masse. For letting the business side of his nonprofit business overshadow the nonprofit, the institute's director has been assailed at public meetings.

The Elk Research Institute has countered by saying its mission is misunderstood and is being misconstrued - or just missed altogether - by a small but vocal group of determined opponents. The institute never was supposed to conduct laboratory research, says ERI staff - check the lease. The organization was established to breed and develop a herd of genetically superior Rocky Mountain elk, resistant to chronic wasting disease.

And CSU was all for it.

The herd is vital to all elk and to the region, the institute says, and a final clue to end the search to solve chronic wasting disease could come from Hesperus, if it is given enough time. The herd can be available for future research on chronic wasting disease and, eventually, could be used to repopulate decimated areas.

"You might not call it research," said institute Director Barry Dyar, in an interview at the Herald. "But it absolutely is."

Still standing

Founded in 2002, the Elk Research Institute is run by Dyar. A noted wildlife enthusiast and big-game hunter, he also has operated a private elk-breeding business near his home in Oxford, the Mad Hatter Ranch, since 1996.

The university signed a rent-free sublease with Dyar's ERI in February 2004 to fence off and use a 1,500-acre inholding at the 6,300-acre Old Fort Lewis site as home for his special herd.

Critics say Dyar is doing exactly what he was doing as a successful private elk rancher until 2001, when the elk-ranching business began to slow: making money.

Public tax returns show he is paid $60,000 a year, and the institute pays him $120,000 in "facility lease fees" for using the breeding facilities and pens at Mad Hatter Ranch. The returns show ERI owes Dyar $1.59 million in accrued debt.

On top of the financial issues, critics question the lack of scientific credentials on the résumés of board members. They point to the lack of original research produced and the trophy hunting in an escape-proof environment.

CSU backed off its initial support of ERI, said the director of the school's Hesperus research center, in part because of the hormones and supplements Dyar was giving his elk to grow their antlers. Researchers were worried they would jeopardize study results. The use of supplements to grow antlers is common in the private elk-ranching business.

Critics say Dyar has known since 2004 that his elk can't do what he says they can do (resist chronic wasting disease) and instead has seized on public ignorance to make him and his friends wealthier.

Former state Sen. Jim Isgar, who helped Dyar acquire the lease for the land, sticks with his initial support.

"I still think it's a worthwhile project. I still stand by that," Isgar said. "There's a fair amount of misinformation out there."

But the hits keep coming, and Dyar, Isgar and others say they don't understand why.

Nonprofit business

The institute employs no full-time research scientists, and a simple shelter is the only standing structure on the Hesperus property. Dyar and an administrative assistant comprise the institute's staff. A board of directors with a president and a treasurer satisfy IRS requirements for a nonprofit.

Although the tax return shows Dyar making $60,000 a year, he says he brings in about $1,000 a month as director and is engaged in no other jobs or projects at the moment. He called the institute a labor of love.

Dyar said the $1.59 million is how much the institute owes him for the initial purchase of his herd and annual use of the Oxford facility's breeding equipment and pens.

The animals are transported to the Hesperus property leased by ERI. There they stay until felled by a paying hunter's rifle. Along with grants and private donations, Dyar said funding for the breeding operations in Oxford comes from the sale of "harvest hunts" at the Hesperus site.

Reporters are not allowed to tag along on hunts, Dyar said.

To the institute, it is culling from the herd elk that either "no longer meet research objectives" or do not appear likely to survive the winter, Dyar said. Supporters also may donate a suggested amount to take part in a tranquilizer dart "research capture" with Dyar. He's available at the end to recommend a taxidermist to donors, who are free to take home their prizes.

Charitable organizations often offer goods and services as a means of fundraising, but to maintain nonprofit status with the IRS, a charity's business end must not outweigh its charitable side, which is what Dyar's critics allege. The business side of ERI has a Web site similar to the research site, but is called "Western Elk Hunting."

The institute keeps its own hunting season, starting Aug. 15 and ending in December. Dyar personally guides each harvest hunt and research capture, but he said he had no idea how much money has been raised through the programs. It doesn't show up in returns.

Not sexy

Just as opponents are frustrated with Dyar, he says he's frustrated with a faceless enemy. Critics don't attach their names to inaccurate papers that fault the institute. He doesn't understand the vindictiveness. He offers an extended invitation to anyone who wants to come to Hesperus and see the herd. He's always available to answer questions, he says.

Bill Hobson, the institute's scientific director, said ERI's study is a costly long-term one; vital field work has to be done before others can take over in labs.

"We're not doing sexy research," Hobson said, "We're doing necessary research."

Former institute board member Doug Leming lined up behind Dyar, saying the director is not being heard out. Treasurer John Dustin and board President Del Craddock defended the institute, as well. The tone of the debate has gotten so sour, said Dustin, he's considering filing lawsuit for libel against several of the institute's detractors.

But critics such as Bruce Kowalski, Hesperus rancher Dan Huntington, Ken Francis with FLC, Tony Schoonen with The Boone and Crockett Club and others are skeptical. They've wondered why the herd, maintained by Dyar since 1996, needs the Hesperus property at all, if not for the hunting opportunities the land affords the operators. And they're curious what he's been up to inside his locked hunting park.

"The herd is the research," Dyar said on a tour in September.

His critics disagree.

gandrews@durangoherald.com

Read the next article in this series: Elk Research Institute's hunting raises concerns