Tag: Elk

More Kentucky Elk Earmarked for W.Va.

West Virginia’s fledgling elk herd will get another boost from a recreation area in Kentucky.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that the Tomblin Wildlife Management Area in Logan and Mingo counties will receive 17 elk from Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky.

“This is great news for all West Virginians as we continue to restore this magnificent native species to our state,” Gov. Jim Justice said in making the announcement Friday.

Paul Johansen, wildlife chief for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, said the arrangement has been in the works for about two months.

“The folks at (Land Between the Lakes) reached out and notified us that they had some surplus animals they were seeking a home for,” he said. “Of course we were interested.”

The natural resources division will pay the U.S. Forest Service $500 for each elk, he said.

DNR officials will travel to western Kentucky in early February to help with the processing.

The 17 elk earmarked for West Virginia will be radio-collared, implanted with microchips, tested for diseases and quarantined for 30 days while the test results are analyzed. At the end of the quarantine period, DNR workers will transport the animals to West Virginia.

Johansen said the DNR is particularly interested in getting a few more breeding-age cows to more rapidly expand the state’s elk population.

A previous shipment from Land Between the Lakes consisted of 12 cows and 12 bulls, which were released in late 2016. Of those 12 cows, three were pregnant and bore calves in June 2017.

The DNR also has an arrangement in place to receive 70 elk from Arizona. DNR personnel will travel there on Jan. 21 to assist with the capture and processing of those animals. Agency officials expect the Arizona animals to be shipped to West Virginia early this spring.

Partnership to Protect 32,000 Acres for West Virginia Elk

A new partnership between West Virginia and a nonprofit group will protect about 32,000 acres of forest as habitat for the state’s new elk population.

The Herald-Dispatch reports the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources and The Conservation Fund used $12 million from the Wildlife Conservation Fund to protect the land. The Conservation Fund purchased the land in 2016 and then transferred it to the Division of Natural Resources.

The project was completed in advance of about 60 elk from Arizona that will be added to West Virginia’s elk population in early 2018.

Additional funding came from the West Virginia Outdoor Heritage Conservation Fund, Walmart, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Acres for America program, the Knobloch Family Foundation and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

Collision with Ambulance Kills 2 Elk in W.Va.

West Virginia’s elk population dropped to 22 after two elk collided with an ambulance.

News outlets report a calf and an elk died after they jumped over the median on U.S. 119 and collided with an ambulance Monday morning. No patients were in the ambulance and the two ambulance personnel were unharmed.

24 elk were reintroduced into the state in December, marking the first time the animal could be seen in the state since 1875.

Randy Kelley with the state Division of Natural Resources urged drivers to be mindful of their speed and be aware of animal crossings, but says accidents are unavoidable.

Up to 60 more elk could be introduced to the state next spring.

Elk from Arizona Expected Next Year in West Virginia

West Virginia wildlife officials say 60 elk will come to the state next year through a partnership with their counterparts in Arizona.

The Arizona Game and Fish Commission has approved capture of five dozen elk to be transported east as part of West Virginia’s ongoing elk restoration project.

According to the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, the elk will be caught sometime between January and March using helicopters and safe trapping techniques, held in quarantine then transported by livestock haulers and released at the Tomblin Wildlife Management Area in Logan County.

Nearly two dozen elk received from Kentucky in late 2016 are there.

Paul Johansen, chief of the division’s Wildlife Resources Section, says elk were once native to West Virginia but disappeared more than a century ago.

First Elk Calf Since Reintroduction of Elk to State, Born

The first elk calf has been born to an elk reintroduced to Logan County in December.

The West Virginia Division of Natural resources announced Thursday the birth of an elk calf at the Tomblin Wildlife Management Area. It’s the first elk birth since the reintroduction of the animals to the state last December.

The DNR caught the birth when the calf passed by a camera that was set up in recent weeks to monitor the movement of a pregnant elk. According to the DNR there were 6 pregnant elk of the 24 that were reintroduced to the area, though two died soon after release.  DNR officials believe there is at least one other current pregnancy.

Elk were once native to West Virginia. Legislation in 2015 authorized the DNR to begin an elk restoration program, with the hope of economic and environmental benefits. 

W.Va. Officials Use Technology to Track New Elk Herd

Biologists have put tracking collars on each of the 24 elk recently released in West Virginia.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the collars can be tracked by satellites using global positioning system transmitters while workers on the ground use radio transmitters to follow the elk’s progress.

The elk were relocated to West Virginia from Kentucky recently, the first time elk have roamed in West Virginia in 141 years. State officials are concerned some of the small herd might be killed by cars if they wander too far from the mountain tops.

Randy Kelley, the elk project leader for the state Department of Natural Resources, said the collars can be programmed to drop off the animals automatically. They can be reused later as the elk herd grows.

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