A cooperative partnership has brought elk back to a state where the last native elk was killed in 1855.
Photos Courtesy of Mike Roberts.
An indigenous call of the wild long silenced across the Commonwealth of Virginia once again echoes from the fog-shrouded valleys and steep hardwood ridges of Buchanan County.
Thanks to a cooperative partnership among the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation—plus the blood, sweat, and dollars of a local conservation group called the Southwest Virginia Sportsmen—elk are finally back at home and thriving in what might seem unlikely habitat, reclaimed coal fields.
The Cherokee People of the Appalachian Plateau called elk a-wi-e-qua, which means “great deer.” Early American colonists were confused about a species of deer too large to be related to the red stags of Europe, so they labeled them moose. Regardless of colloquial name applications, the North American elk (Cervus canadensis) remains one of nature’s most striking creatures. And if the bulls’ antlered crowns are not impressive enough, their shrill, autumn bugles resonate through the hills and hollows of one’s soul.
There were some who questioned the reintroduction of this missing link, pointing out the Eastern subspecies has long been extinct. True, the last such elk recorded in Virginia was killed in Clarke County by Colonel Gos Tuley in 1855. And yes, the animals Virginia DGIF obtained for release were of Rocky Mountain lineage. Regardless, Eastern populations were decimated a century before physiological differences could have been evaluated.
Other pessimists focused on crop damage and the potential of disease spreading to livestock. As part of a carefully crafted restoration plan, DGIF quarantined and throughly tested each captive animal for pathogens numerous times prior to release; and release site selection was based on socio-economic concerns, such as minimizing damage to farmers’ crops.
Seven years after the initial release, one thing is for certain: viewing opportunities are ramping up in Buchanan County—the newly designated “Elk Capital of Virginia.”
The story above appears in our March/April, 2020 issue. For more subscribe today or log in to the digital edition with your active digital subscription. Thank you for your support!
