Thursday, April 16, 2009
Virginia takes notice of Kentucky's elk herd, 10th largest in U.S.
Bill Cochran
Recent columns
Kentucky’s elk population is expected to exceed 11,000 animals this year, a spectacular success story when you consider it all started with the release of seven elk from Kansas in 1997.
Few people are more delighted with this wildlife success story than David Ledford, director of the Appalachians Wildlife Initiative for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
I caught up with Ledford recently following his appearance before the board of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries where he had been invited to talk about the potential of elk restoration in Virginia. Here’s how he answered my questions:
Q. Virginia wildlife officials are rethinking their elk management philosophy with an eye toward enhancing a population of these big animals in far Southwest Virginia. Do you think this is a good idea?
A. If the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is going to establish an elk population, I think Southwestern Virginia is a good place, based on our experience just across the state line in Kentucky.
Q. Just how much of a success story has Kentucky been?
A. Off-the-charts successful. We will have 11,300 elk after calves hit the ground this summer and we will have more than 1,000 elk hunters this fall. Kentucky now has the 10th largest elk herd in the United States.
Q. How many elk were stocked to achieve these numbers?
A. Kentucky stocked 1,557. The animals came from Kansas, Arizona, Oregon, North Dakota, Utah and New Mexico.
Q. With 1,000 hunters expected this fall, it is obvious that elk hunting has become a big attraction. Tell us about it.
A. Last year, 34,000 people applied for 400 elk tags. This year we expect 40,000 people to apply for 1,000 elk tags -- 250 bull and 750 cow tags. Elk hunting fees and licenses probably generated just under $400,000 last year.
Q. Have some trophy bulls been taken?
A. Yes, we have had several Boone and Crockett bulls taken and our average score is getting bigger every year as this population ages.
Q. Virginia officials have been reluctant to establish an elk herd out of fear that elk might introduce diseases that are harmful to deer and may cause crop and property damage. Do you think these are legitimate concerns?
A. Concerns like this are always legitimate. However, if there is enough of a desire to restore a species of wildlife, we must figure out a way to overcome these challenges.
Q. How many elk do you think would be a viable population in Southwest Virginia?
A. It depends on what the citizens of Virginia want from an elk herd. You can have 50 or you can have many more. It depends on the objective.
Q. A study funded several years ago by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation concluded that Southwest Virginia is not the first choice for elk restoration in Virginia. Now all of the attention is on it. What does it have to offer?
A. Reclaimed coal surface mines and low human population densities. Kentucky has demonstrated that reclaimed coal mines offer excellent elk habitat, and that area of Virginia now has elk anyway. It just so happens that good elk habitat also is good quail habitat, especially on surface mine sites.
Q. Do you think Virginia should set the goal of establishing a huntable population of elk?
A. That is for Virginia citizens to decide, but, yes, the Elk Foundation will always support efforts to promote hunting.
Q. Are their economical benefits to elk in addition to hunting?
A. Yes, elk have proven to be significant tourist attractions across the country.
Q. What kind of support could Virginia expect from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation when it comes to establishing an elk herd?
A. The Elk Foundation can help with planning, facilitation and building the needed partnerships, communications and funding.
Q. Do you think it would be necessary to stock elk in Virginia or would an elk management program be a matter of giving the small herd already in the state an opportunity to expand?
A. I don’t know because we are not sure how many elk are in Virginia. Again, the question of stocking would be answered by what Virginia wants to achieve with an elk herd.
Q. Looking back on the Kentucky experience, are there things you would tell Virginia to do differently?
A. Not much.
Q. In addition to Kentucky, are there success stories in any other states in the East?
A. Tennessee now has about 300 elk and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has about 100 on the North Carolina side. Wisconsin has about 125 elk; Pennsylvania about 500; Michigan about 700
