March 28 on The Story: In the community of Gearhart on the Oregon Coast, residents have become accustomed to the herds of elk that come to visit, even passing through residential neighborhoods. But things have changed in the last few years. Fewer of the animals started showing up, and that's likely because they were being hunted. Between 2021 and 2023, hunters killed 77 elk on a single property. And it's all legal — the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife issues elk tags to landowners who report that elk have damaged their property. They issued over 600 tags in Clatsop County alone during that same period. The people who requested elk damage tags say it's necessary to deter the elk and the damage they can cause. But others think it's a tactic that's being overused, even abused. Watch more The Story videos: http://bit.ly/watchTheStory Follow The Story on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheStoryKGW Follow The Story on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thestorykgw