Gov. Jim Justice says more elk are coming to the state this month.
Justice announced in his State of the State address this week that the elk will come from Kentucky to supplement the current population.
In his regular briefing with reporters on Friday, he talked about it again.
“We started with 22, there are 110 now, and these other 40 are on their way,” he said. “It’s good stuff.”
The elk will be transported from the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area and arrive in West Virginia in late January.
The governor’s office says the elk will be held for a brief time before their release into the wild.
The state plans to build a visitor center and observation tower so the public can view them.
The Department of Natural resources will be reviewing bids on the project in the coming weeks, according to the governor’s office.
The center and tower, in Logan County’s Tomblin Wildlife Management Area, will receive $2.5 million in Abandoned Mine Land grants.