A little semi-recent Pennsylvania elk history.
Through the late seventies and early eighties the elk population was limited to just a few remaining animals in Elk and Cameron Counties. Their numbers were not growing due primarily to the number being legally shot each year for crop damage.
During the late eighties and early nineties the Game Commission worked extensively with the local farmers to get some of the major farms in the elk range fenced with elk deterrent fencing. That made a tremendous difference in the ability of the elk population to start growing. Elk were finally expanding in numbers at a pretty significant rate.
By the mid nineties the elk numbers had expanded to where the traditional elk range was filled with about as many elk as the elk would allow and we started seeing more and more elk moving out of the traditional elk range. Often those elk moving out of the traditional range were moving into other high agriculture areas and falling victim to being shot for crop damage. At that point is was obvious that something needed to be done to either control the elk population, within the elk range, to level acceptable to the elk or expand the elk range. But, before expanding the elk range we needed more elk habitat.
To determine what areas of the state had suitable elk habitat the Game Commission charged Penn State University with the task of determining what type of habitat the elk currently used and then applying that model to the entire state to see what other areas had suitable elk habitat. Penn State came back with a map that showed the few areas of the state with habitat that was similar to what the elk were using in the traditional habitat. The only area that was suitable and had a large amount of public land was in Clinton County.
The Game Commission spent many months meeting with the public of Clinton County working on not only getting some elk release located but getting public support for a trap and transfer program to move elk to Clinton County.
Starting in the late nineties we spent a couple winters trapping and moving elk to a couple soft release sites in Clinton County. The whole process of trap and transfer and soft release was a huge success. But the public acceptance of the elk was not so much as success. A pretty high number of the relocated elk were killed by a small group of gardeners, who claimed to be and lightly qualified as farmers, soon killed a number of the related elk. At that point it was pretty obvious that even though there might a few areas of the state with suitable habitat the elk were not publicly acceptable in area outside the traditional range.
Many of the elk moved to one of the release sites did adapt to the area and establish an eastern elk range herd though. Those are the elk that now exist in parts of Clinton, Potter, Centre and Clearfield Counties. The Game Commission also worked extensively on habitat partnerships with other government agencies and larger private land owners. A lot of great elk habitat has been created in this new extended elk range. That is resulting in an expanding elk herd.
But, the other thing that became obvious was that we needed a hunt to elk in the traditional range and some parts of the expanded range to keep the elk herd within population limits that were acceptable to the elk that lived there.
It has been a great success story and I am proud to have been a part of it.
Dick Bodenhorn
