By Jim Darnell
Daily Record Columnist
May 08, 2008 10:32 am
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I love conservation success stories. It thrills me to see the abundance of brown pelicans along our Texas coast and huge numbers of bald eagles each summer when we visit Alaska. Both were on the threatened or endangered species list in recent times. Both have made huge comebacks.
Recently, while in northern Arkansas, my wife Beth and I saw with our own eyes another victory for wildlife conservation.
Many people think of elk only as a western animal. The huge herds in Yellowstone Park and Rocky Mountain National Park would lull us into thinking that they are indigenous only to the mountains of the West. Not so.
At the beginning of the 19th century, huge herds of elk were found in most states and territories east of the Mississippi. But the westward march of civilization soon took its toll on this subspecies of majestic elk. Overhunting, natural mortality and the shrinking of natural grazing pastures caused elk populations to diminish until by the time of the Civil War only a few scattered pockets of Eastern elk remained. In 1867, east of St. Marys, Pennsylvania, a Native American named Jim Jacobs achieved the dubious honor of killing the last wild, native elk east of the Mississippi.
In Arkansas, the elk were all gone by about 1840. The only signs of elk in Arkansas were a few sets of sun-bleached antlers hanging on barns and a few deeply rutted game trails worn into the soil. At the turn of the 20th century, few could have imagined ever hearing the shrill bugle of a wild elk ever again in Arkansas.
But in 1933 an elk re-introduction effort was begun in “the Natural State.” The U.S. Forest Service released three bulls and eight cows in Franklin County’s Black Mountain Refuge, in what is now White Rock Wildlife Management Area. The herd grew to about 200 by the mid-1950s, then dwindled, due to a combination of poaching and habitat decline as old fields on Black Mountain reverted to forest. By 1960 or so, the fields were gone and so were the elk.
But as life teaches us so often, don’t let a failure stop you. Try again.
In 1980, Newton County resident Hilary Jones, a Game and Fish commissioner, noted the similarities between Colorado’s elk range and the rugged landscape surrounding his home near the Buffalo National River. Both areas had grassy meadows, extensive forested areas for cover and permanent water. Both had low human populations. Both had plenty of rough country to give elk protection from excessive interaction with man.
Between 1981 and 1985, 105 Colorado elk (mostly “nuisance” animals) and seven elk from Nebraska were moved to the Buffalo River area. These elk were traded for a million largemouth bass fingerlings from Arkansas hatcheries.
Strong protection was given to these new elk by Jones and his neighbors in Newton County of Arkansas. Public sentiment was strongly in favor of the re-introduction effort. In 1983, the remains of a young elk that had been butchered were found. Local residents quickly posted a $4,000 reward. Would-be elk poachers quickly got the message. It isn’t worth the risk.
Today, the eerie shrill bugle of the elk again vibrates through the Buffalo River Valley and the Ozark Mountains. A thriving herd of about 450 elk can be easily seen by tourists in the valley near Ponca and many other areas.
The elk have reached their maximum number for the habitat range that is available. Controlled hunts (by permit drawing only) are now being conducted to keep the herd healthy. Hunting is a great conservation tool when used properly.
Beth and I spent several afternoons watching and filming groups of elk from three to 50. The bulls had shed their horns, but they were still easy to identify because of their huge size. With the towering Ozarks in the background, the elk were a majestic sight feeding in the green river meadows. Definitely, another conservation success.
Jim Darnell is an ordained minister and host/prodicer of the syndicated outdoors show God’s Great Outdoors.
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