The old brown Chevy is back in action as we hurtle through the darkness on another mission. In the predawn darkness I am climbing up Lens Creek Mountain, headed to Logan County. I think about the madness of flying through the curves of this road, a road I used to be somewhat familiar with but now it is more like navigating a mine field, in the dark. A couple times I hit crater like potholes, and I think I lost the last of my religion, and maybe a few fillings in my teeth. I keep the hammer down on the old truck, I going to check on the elk again, I’m going up on Elk Mountain.
We have talked about the elk in West Virginia before, the program actually started in 2015 when the formation of the Elk Reintroduction Program paved the way to getting elk and bring them to the Mountain State. Yes, you read that right, this is actually a reintroduction effort. There were native elk here, and eastern elk that was actually a little larger than the western elk that are being transplanted now. Historians think the last eastern elk in West Virginia died in the late 1870’s. About 40 elk from the Land Between the Lakes (LBL) in Kentucky made up the first to be transferred, later 50 elk from Arizonia were released here, the Tomblin Wildlife Management Area in Logan County. Later the West Virginia DNR moved in more elk from the LBL in Kentucky.
Several eastern states already have elk reintroduction programs including Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin, Arkansas, and Pennsylvania. The most successful so far however seems to be Kentucky. Kentucky went full bore on its elk stocking efforts and between 1997 and 2002, over 1500 western elk were released in a sixteen county area in the eastern part of the state. There were many skeptics about this endeavor, but the elk have flourished in Kentucky and the DNR there estimate they have at least 11,000 animals in the state. The elk season is very popular in Kentucky and each year thousands of nonresidents (like me) apply for some highly sought after elk tags. The economic benefit of having an elk hunting season and wildlife watching for these big animals is estimated to be in the millions of dollars.
I’m here today tagging along with Elk Program Leader Randy Kelly and part of his staff, Wildlife Specialist Jake Wimmer, and Elk Technician Steve Turom. I am very grateful for their hospitality and try to stay out of the way but still ask enough questions to get the story. I think people are always asking how many elk are here and I begin to understand the elk numbers are fragile and change a lot. The good news, they tell me is 2024 was their best calving year yet, but the bad news is it was a terrible year for brainworm killing elk.
The brainworm is a parasite that infests members of the Cervid family, that is deer, but for whatever reason is much more devasting to elk than on whitetail deer. A wet spring, such as we had in 2024, creates a better environment for the brainworm’s intermediate hosts, snail and slugs, on the forest floor. These are ingested by the elk grazing and forging on plants which infects the new host. The elk team report about 75 elk have died since the start of the project and 54 of those have been from the effects of brainworm. Some died of stress during the initial releases, a few have been victim of crashes with vehicles when they decide to cross highways.
Jake and Steve tell me that elk are great travelers, a couple of bull elk from the original Kentucky releases struck out almost immediately to return to Kentucky and made it far into that state (about 60 air miles away) only to be hit on Interstate 64. Cow elk, they tell me, routinely travel for miles to be alone while calving, then return to the other elk, often in just a few days. One bull elk they know has a habit of staying alone most of the year, staying alone in this rough country, then like clockwork when the rut starts in September he returns to the main body of elk. He gathers a harem of cows, then when the mating season is over he returns to his hermit like existence.
Steve has dropped off Randy in a distant blind where he will wait in hopes of darting with a tranquilizer gun, a couple of elk that remain on their list of those that need a collar replaced or in the case of new calves, have their first transmitter collar put on so that the Elk Program team can monitor their whereabouts.
Steve, Jake, and I spend most of the morning on Elk Mountain (that is my name for it not theirs) waiting for Randy to call on the radio that he has darted an elk, but it is not to be. I genuinely enjoy the time with these guys as they tell me their stories of working here in this rugged country doing their very best to see that this program is successful. I get the idea that they, along with Randy, do a lot of things that maybe they really don’t have to do to see that an individual elk will survive. They go the extra mile, I feel a little humbled (no, a lot humbled) by their dedication. They tell me more than once they are thrilled and feel lucky to a part of all this in their careers.
L-R WVDNR employees Steve Torum, Randy Kelly, Jake Wimmer, plan strategy to dart an elk.
Readers always ask me when I talk about the elk in West Virginia, how are they doing? Friends and neighbors in my usual no so humble opinion I say to you the elk are doing fine, even better than can be expected, because of the hard work and dedication of the DNR Wildlife staff that work with these wonderful animals and the DNR Law Enforcement Officers that protect them.
If are so inclined and can walk a little on Elk Mountain you can go up there in September and October and maybe hear an elk bugle. That my friends is wonderful news, and we need to thank those that are making it possible.
Larry Case www.gunsandcornbread.com
Elk Program Leader Randy Kelly with elk sheds.
Bull elk Mark Bias photo https://www.facebook.com/share/151prdLuG7/?mibextid=wwXIfr