Elk Reintroduced Into West Virginia

In December of 2016, twenty-four elk were placed in the Tomblin Wildlife Management areas, named after the current governor of West Virginia. The Tomblin Wildlife Management areas are located in Logan County, which is in southern West Virginia. These are the first elk in West Virginia since around 1875 (WVMetroNew 2016). I agree that elk should be reintroduced into their former range for environmental and economic regions.

Eastern Elk were once widespread throughout the Eastern United States. Large herds of elk were found in the Kanawha and Ohio river valleys. Many of these elk were found in the high mountains of West Virginia. Large timbering operations, market hunting, and subsistence hunting were the main cause of the population decline in West Virginia. The last elk in West Virginia was recorded in Webster County in 1875. Like Pennsylvania, West Virginia had tried reintroduction projects with little success. In 1913, West Virginia acquired fifty elk from Yellowstone National Park. The elk were released into the wild in Pocahontas County, West Virginia with little success. One limiting factor that the West Virginia Division of Natural Resource is taking into account is predation from black bear. During the Great Smokey Mountain elk reintroduction project, black bear predation was a limiting factor (WVDNR2 2016).

Where is the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources acquiring these elk? The answer is Kentucky. In particular the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. The Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area is a 170,000 acre area, owned by the United States Forest Service (USDA 2017). The area is located in Western Kentucky and Tennessee between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley making it the largest inland peninsula in the United States. The Land between the Lakes National Recreation Area has a 700 acre restored prairie, bottomland forest, wetlands, and shoreline. Animals that can be found at the Land Between the Lakes includes foxes, bobcat, beaver, river otters, bison, and of course elk. Patrons can pay a small fee to drive a on a wildlife loop to experience what the area looked like in the past (PorterBriggs 2015).

Altogether, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources want to reintroduce about seventy-five elk into the Tomblin Wildlife Management areas. In addition, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources plans to reintroduce seventy-five more elk in nearby Wyoming and Mingo counties. The Tug Fork Wildlife Management Area, located in McDowell County, has been created for future reintroductions (PutnamReview 2015). The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources is currently in contact with Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky DNR, and the State of Arizona to obtain more elk. Obtaining animals from different areas is very important is sustaining genetic diversity. They decided to reintroduce the elk in winter to reduce stress on pregnant females. I hope that the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources has a successful calving season (WVMetroNews 2016).

Where did the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources obtain all the money and land to do this reintroduction project? Outdoorsman fueled the cost of transporting the elk. The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources used money obtain from hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses to pay for freight costs. They also used taxes paid from purchasing firearms and archery equipment. The Conservation Fund, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and Walmart donated most of the land used in the elk reintroduction project (WVMetroNew 2016). Overall, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources has acquired around 42,000 acres of land for elk reintroduction purposes (WVDNR 2016). The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is also contributing greatly to the reintroduction efforts (WVMetroNews 2016).

 

 

Why should you care as a wildlife professional and as a person? As a wildlife professional, we should want to see animals reintroduced back to their former ranges. Each animal fits a niche in the environment and the niche elk filled in the Eastern United States has been absent for years. The presence of elk in Southern West Virginia would benefit the economy greatly. Southern West Virginia was hit the hardest, after the collapse of the coal industry. While on the alternative spring break trip, I saw firsthand how crippled the economy is in West Virginia. With reintroduction of elk, southern West Virginia could create an ecotourism hot spot. Take Pennsylvania for example. Benezette and the surrounding areas benefit greatly with the influx of people. People from all over the world come to see the elk at the Elk Country visitor center. In addition, when the time comes, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources could open up a hunting season for the elk. I know this will not happen in the near future, but it is something to think about. The addition of an elk hunting season would bring a large chunk of money into West Virginia’s economy.

Overall, I think this is a very good idea, and if West Virginia’s elk program is like Pennsylvania’s then it has a bright future. I am completely for the reintroduction of elk back into West Virginia because it will benefit the environment and the economy. I plan to follow up on the reintroduction project as more news comes out and you should too.

 

LITERATURE CITED

Literature

Porter Briggs [PorterBriggs]. 2016. <http://porterbriggs.com/land-between-the-lakes-the-elk-

and-bison-prairie/>. Accessed 26 Apr 2017.

 

Putnam Review [PutnamReview]. 2015. <http://www.putnamreview.com/article

/20150911/GZ07/150919883>. Accessed 26 Apr 2017.

West Virginia Division of Natural Resources [WVDNR1]. 2016. Governor Tomblin welcomes

elk to West Virginia twenty elk released at Tomblin wildlife management area.

<http://www.wvdnr.gov/2016news/16news182.shtm> . Accessed 26 Apr 2017.

West Virginia Division of Natural Resources [WVDNR2]. 2016. West Virginia elk management

plan.< http://www.wvdnr.gov/Publications/Draft_Elk_Plan.pdf>. Accessed 26 Apr 2017.

West Virginia Metro News [WVMetroNews]. 2016. <http://wvmetronews.com/2016/12/19/the-

elk-are-finally-back-in-west-virginias-hills/>. Accessed 26 Apr 2017.

United States Department of Agriculture [USDA]. 2017. Land between the lakes national

recreation area. <https://www.landbetweenthelakes.us/seendo/attractions/elk-bison-

prairie/>. Accessed 26 Apr 2017.

Pictures

http://www.putnamreview.com/article/20150911/GZ07/150919883

http://wvmetronews.com/2016/12/19/the-elk-are-finally-back-in-west-virginias-hills/