Bringing Elk Back to the Smoky Mountains

G R E A T &nbsp;S M O K Y &nbsp;M O U N T A I N S<br>N A T I O N A L &nbsp;P A R K, Tenn., April 28 -- Jennifer Murrow, a University of Tennessee researcher, is the Smoky Mountains' designated elk observer.

That can be difficult. This is a 500,000-acre national park and only 54 elk live in it.

Each of the elk has been given a radio collar and ear tag so the park can keep tabs on them. It is part of the effort to bring the elk back from near extinction.

"But they did exist here 200 years ago," Murrow said.

Turning Back the Clock

And they existed in huge herds. Like the buffalo, millions once roamed America. Their unusual bugling call was a common sound in the country's forest. But by the 1920s, only about 100,000 elk were left in the entire United States.

"When we have lost the last of a certain species, you know, we can do nothing to bring that back," said Kim Delozier of the National Park Service.

Early efforts saved the elk in the Rocky Mountains. Now, the focus is on restoring herds to places they haven't been seen in over a century — Wisconsin and Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina — funded by an unusual coalition of environmentalists and hunters.

Their common goal is elk herds in great numbers again, large enough that both groups could agree to limited hunting someday. For now, though, the priority is just to keep the elk healthy.

"We have extremely healthy calves," Murrow said. "And for the first year of an experimental release like this, that's pretty impressive."

Local reaction is mostly good.

"They're just such beautiful, majestic animals," marveled one woman.

Cattlemen’s Concerns

Wildlife officials are optimistic, though there are concerns.

Cattlemen, for instance, worry the elk might try to roam onto private ranches and could spread disease to cattle.

"I think we, as cattlemen, are cautiously optimistic that they will be able to keep them where they say they will," said Dave Fugate, a cattleman.

Smoky Mountain officials say they made sure these animals are free of disease. The elk are originally from Canada, from Alberta's Elk Island, from a herd there known to be healthy and quite hearty.