THE sight of a majestic elk, head held high holding massive antlers, is a sight that takes your breath away, but one that has been missing from New York State for more than 100 years.
That would change under a plan to reintroduce elk to the Catskill Region. Proponents see an elk comeback as a way to recapture a bit of long-gone majesty and draw more tourists. But the plan faces some hurdles, not the least of which are residents who worry over elk sauntering out into roadways or nibbling on crops.
Elk once were present throughout the state. But the huge animals disappeared after over-hunting in the region in the middle of the 19th century. These days, elk are associated more with the Rocky Mountains and Canadian wilderness.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, a Montana-based group whose mission is to maintain and expand the animal’s habitat, has worked to reintroduce elk in other states and began looking at New York in 1995. So far, it has spent up to $250,000 on the New York effort, much of it for studies on where elk would be most likely to succeed. The Catskills were chosen after such factors as population density, roads and available food were considered.
Hearings on the proposal were held around the Catskills in recent months and the foundation is working on a draft environmental impact statement to turn over to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, which would make the final decision.
David Kelner, the foundation’s regional representative, said up to 100 imported elk could be released over five years in several yet-to-be-determined rural locations. Areas of Greene, Sullivan and Ulster counties are all considered suitable to nurture a herd that Kelner hopes one day will sustain itself. “It sounds a little hokey,” he said, “but it’s really the symbol of all that’s free and wild.”
Kelner notes that elk have been reintroduced successfully in other states. Four years after elk were returned to Kentucky, the state’s herd numbered about 1,500 this summer. In Pennsylvania, which started what might be the grandaddy of elk reintroduction programs in 1913, the herd is at 700 and growing.
The New York plan has gained some support among hunters. And in an area heavily dependent on day-trippers and vacationers, some hotel owners and local politicians see elk as tourist magnets. Ray Pucci of the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce recalls extra money flowing into the area a few years ago when a single “Moose Crossing” sign went up temporarily on Route 28.
But the prospect of elk crossing busy roadways is just the sort of thing rallying opposition to the plan. Fender-benders from deer-car collisions are common in the Catskills. But while an adult white-tailed buck deer can weigh 130 pounds, a male elk can weigh well over 700 pounds.
Kelner aims to submit a draft of the foundation’s environmental impact statement by January. The state environmental agency is likely to hold its own series of public hearings after that.
The state agency has not taken a position on the proposal, although spokesman Peter Constantakes said concerns include car-elk collisions, farming and who would pay long-term for managing a herd at a time when the state’s conservation fund is already running low.
“It would be difficult to put up with any additional expense,” he said.
