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The North American elk was once common throughout the United States, including the State of Virginia. However, by the mid-1800’s, its range had been pushed back and restricted to the Rocky Mountain region and several isolated areas along the Pacific Coast. Beginning in the early 1900’s, many attempts were made to reintroduce the North American elk to various portions of its former range in ten different plains states and eight eastern states. Many of these attempts were unsuccessful, including a series of releases in Virginia that resulted in two small herds persisting for just over fifty years (1917 – 1970). However, ongoing successes in Pennsylvania and Michigan, along with their evolving management strategies, have contributed a great deal to the formerly scant knowledge of eastern elk ecology. In addition, recent releases in Arkansas and Kentucky are being closely monitored, and much information has been obtained relevant to the necessary elements of a successful restoration. With this increased knowledge, a new interest has developed in restoring elk to other parts of its extirpated range. In 1997, The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation supported a 2-year feasibility study conducted by the Department of Fish and Wildlife Science at Virginia Tech in conjunction with the Conservation Management Institute to examine the potential of a second series of releases in Virginia.
This study was composed of two major elements. The first examined the biological feasibility of restoring elk to Virginia by identifying potentially high quality elk habitat within the Commonwealth where an elk herd could reside. The second part of the study was to perform an in-depth socioeconomic assessment of the state as a whole, and of the areas and communities surrounding potential release sites to determine levels of resident support for elk restoration and to identify and analyze possible conflicts, costs, and benefits that may arise from such a program. The description below reviews our methods and gives brief summaries of the results. For more information, use the contact information.
See below for a pdf of the full report.
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