Olympic Park sued over goring

Visitors to Glacier National Park, along with Park supporters and staff, will be interested in a story about a lawsuit involving Olympic National Park in Washington.

According to the Peninsula Daily News and KOMO News, Tacoma, Wash.-based attorney John Messina has filed a wrongful death and personal injury lawsuit against the national park over the death of 63-year-old man who was gored by a mountain goat. Claims made on behalf of Bob Boardman's estate, widow and son total more than $10 million.

Boardman, of Port Angeles, Wash., was fatally gored by a 370-pound mountain goat on Oct. 16, 2010, while hiking on Klahlane Ridge with his widow, Susan Chadd, and a friend. Chadd later said she felt like the national park wasn't protecting people and responded poorly to their calls for help. The national park's suggestion that they should have thrown rocks at the goat was very irresponsible, she said.

Chief park ranger Colin Smith reportedly said the mountain goat in question had a history of aggressive behavior. Incident reports filed by rangers said Boardman had not acted aggressively toward the goat; that the goat stood over Boardman for about half an hour, preventing Chadd from reaching the victim; and that Boardman's artery was severed, so he likely died within five minutes.

Rangers killed the mountain goat the same day of the attack. A necropsy reportedly determined the goat was healthy.

Mountain goats and mountain sheep often get within goring distance of visitors to Glacier National Park, particularly around the Logan Pass parking lot, at Hidden Lake Overlook and along the Highline Trail. Moose are often seen near hikers on the Swiftcurrent Trail, and human-bear encounters throughout the Many Glacier area are commonplace. This summer, a mountain lion reportedly threatened hikers in the Upper McDonald Creek area, but rangers were unable to locate it.

Wildlife are not the only threats to human life in the Park. The biggest cause of death in Glacier Park is drowning, but steep snow slopes have claimed lives, too. Thousands of vehicles travel up and over the Going-to-the-Sun Road during the busy summer tourist season, and often drivers are distracted by scenery or passengers' requests, creating conditions for a fatal crash. And sometimes a rock falls off the unstable rock cliffs above the alpine highway.