43 elk from Lakes Between the Lakes packed and shipped to West Virginia – ClarksvilleNow.com

GOLDEN POND, Ky. For nearly three decades, elk have been a staple of Kentucky’s Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. Many of these areas receive 1.8 million visitors annually to view the elk and bison prairie deer herds.

The herd is now smaller due to an agreement with West Virginia, which received 43 elk from the recreation area to repopulate the species in the Mountain State.

The relocation, completed on April 3, is a big deal for West Virginia, but why would the USDA Forest Service agree to lose these beautiful animals? While this loss does reduce the number of elk that visitors view in the Land Between the Lakes, wildlife biologists agree that the relocation would be mutually beneficial to both sites.

The 700-acre elk and bison prairie can only support a limited number of animals, said Curtis Fowler, a Forest Service wildlife technician at Golden Pond Interlakes National Recreation Area in Kentucky. Reducing the number of animals improves the quality of the herd and makes them more resistant to stressors.

The elk will have more natural forage and better cover to help breed new generations of elk in the future. The move also aligns with one of the program’s original goals, which is to maintain healthy elk populations so that wild elk can be reintroduced in the future wherever needed.

In fact, Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area has helped release 168 elk into the wild over the past 25 years, including reintroducing elk to Great Smoky Mountains National Park and wildlife management areas in Kentucky and Tennessee.

The elk have found a new home 400 miles east of the Tomblin Wildlife Management Area National Recreation Area in southern West Virginia. Land Between the Lakes is supporting West Virginia’s efforts to reintroduce and expand elk populations by sending two herds of elk to the state.

According to the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, moving elk is the safest way to increase elk numbers.

Brett McMillion, director of the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, said the USDA Forest Service and the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area have been an important part of the elk reintroduction effort to West Virginia. Since 2016, we have worked closely to bring 79 elk to the Logan County Tomblin Wildlife Management Area. Their cooperation and assistance are critical to the success of West Virginia’s elk reintroduction program.

Back in Kentucky, smaller herds will benefit from the extra space. It’s not just the elk herds. Fowler explained that many other animals call the prairie home, and reducing elk herd numbers ensures that the smaller animals have high-quality natural materials for nesting and cover.

Elk were first reintroduced to recreation areas managed by the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1996. Elk and bison were both native species that inhabited what is now the Land Between the Lakes.

When the Forest Service took over management of the lands between the lakes in 1999, the herd was about 35 elk. After the elk recently migrated to West Virginia, the herd now numbers 43 individuals. manageable natural resources.