50,000 more acres soon to be open to elk hunters
Number of permits will be growing, too

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is trying to head off the type of problem that everyone loves: too much of a good thing.

In this case, elk.

Ten years ago there were no wild elk in the state. They'd been erased nearly 150 years earlier, victims of habitat destruction and unbridled hunting.

Fish and Wildlife officials hatched an idea to reintroduce the animals in a 14-county swath of Eastern Kentucky, which has since been expanded to 16 counties. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation contributed $50,000 to get things started, and the first truckload of elk soon arrived.

The program's success exceeded all expectations. The herd is now self-sustaining and has swelled to about 4,600. Biologists say the elk zone would support 8,000 comfortably, but in another year or so the 42 hunting permits the Fish and Wildlife Commission approved for this season won't be nearly enough to control the numbers.

What's needed now is more land on which to hunt the elk. Most of the 2.2million-acre elk-restoration zone is privately owned, much of it by mining operations, and the commission has been hesitant to hand out more tags until more property is available to hunters.

A major step in that direction occurred Thursday night, when the state and Natural Resource Partners LLC signed a "memorandum of understanding" that will permit elk hunting on 50,000 acres in Breathitt, Knott, Letcher and Harlan counties next year.

"The elk herd has grown phenomenally," commissioner Tom Bennett said after signing the agreement. "We have about 4,600 elk on the ground now, and with the population projections going the way they are, we're going to have to hunt 200 the year after next and 400 the next year and 800 the next year."

The new hunting area is in two tracts of 25,000 acres each. One adjoins the existing 15,000-acre Starfire Limited Entry Area in Breathitt and Knott counties, and the other is in rugged Harlan and Letcher counties on the Virginia line. Both will be managed as limited-entry areas, which means hunter access will be by quota draw only. This year 26 of the 42 tags were for limited-entry areas.

Jon Gassett, deputy commissioner of the Fish and Wildlife Department, said the new areas could be open to 50 or more hunters. He added that the property also might be available for small-game hunting, wildlife watching and other recreational uses after the elk details are finalized.

A "memorandum of understanding" simply means that the deal won't be official until it grinds through the legislative progress, which Gassett expects to take 2-3 months.

The arrangement is part of the Fish and Wildlife Department's Landowner Co-operative Program, which has been around for years. But it adds a new twist: For every 5,000 contiguous acres a landowner or company contracts with the department for a minimum of five years, the property owner will receive an elk tag (or turkey or deer tag, if they prefer).

What landowners do with those tags is their business.

"In many cases large landowners are allowing access to property anyway," Gassett said, "so it's really no change for them, other than they get the benefit of some elk permits. Where it benefits us is that we can't put a hunter on a piece of property unless we have permission for that hunter to go there, and a lot of times that kind of permission is a little more difficult to get."

The 50,000-acre agreement signed Thursday night will garner Natural Resource Partners LLC 10 elk tags. If those tags were auctioned for $20,000 each — a sum routinely produced by tags sold as fund-raisers by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Safari Club International — it would equate to $4 an acre, a price no one would quibble over for access to prime elk habitat.

Third District commissioner Alan Gailor, whose district includes Jefferson County, called such arrangements a "win-win" situation.

"Were it not for the private landowner agreements, the public would be very limited as to places to hunt," he said. "Now as we begin to get these landowner co-operative agreements and elk get established, the citizens of Kentucky who are fortunate to get a (permit) will have a place to hunt and a quality hunt.

"And the people of Eastern Kentucky will be supporting this through their motels and restaurants and guides and sightseeing tours and things such as that."

http://www.courier-journal.com/cjsports/news2004/12/05/C13-elk1205-6079.html

whne you read the fine print every landowner who has 5000 acres gest a choice of permit for a turkey or an elk...they will take turkeys every time....wouldn't you? ( BTW, this is a "bi" subject...coul;d have appeared on theturey pages as well at the deer topics since it does mention turkeys specifically...so do not giove me any troubel over posting over here on this page.)

GN... do I need to create a "Bi-Subject" forum as well? Bet that would show up in some unusual web searches...

I couldn't figure out where to put it. Figured Elk + Deer in the subject beat out turkey

In Virginia, Elk are considered Deer and don't require any additional stamps. I thought that was interesting. I have heard there are hurds of then in the South West part of the state near Kentucky/Virginia border. Sure would love to have an opportunity to put one in my sights!!!

Hey Flatland, don't believe it. Very few people here have seen them. For the past couple of years there have been a very few taken in Wise Co. This season saw only one cow. Last season, if I remember correctly, four were taken at Pound Reservoir on the same day. Its hit and miss (more miss the hit).
Many hunters are saying they'd let one walk if they had the opportunity. I won't know what I'll do until I'm presented with the shot.
I have applied for each of Kentucky's lottery elk hunts. Unsuccessful so far, but there's always hope.