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Elk could return to Catskills
By William J. Kemble, Daily Freeman Correspondent October 05, 2001
CATSKILL - Town officials have been asked to support the release of up to 100 elk in the Catskill Mountains as part of an effort to restock several counties.
At a meeting earlier this week, Town Board members were told that the state Department of Environmental Conservation is expected to reach a decision on an application for the project late next year.
Wally John, a spokesman for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, said elk that had been native to New York state were hunted to extinction by 1847.
"When Henry Hudson sailed ... there were elk along the banks of the Hudson River," he said. "They were wiped out. They were gunned down. They were eaten ... (because) they were a food source during the (American Revolution), the French and Indian Wars, the War of 1812, and for farmers that settled all of the rest of New York state."
John said the demise of elk followed the vanishing frontier until the animal was reduced to several small herds, with most of the population consisting of an estimated 10,000 that remained in Yellowstone National Park in 1880.
"The elk were then ... relocated back to many places," John said. "By the turn of the century, elk were brought back to Pennsylvania ... very close to Allegheny State Park. That herd grew very well and basically created a native population of elk that lasted well into the 1930s ... when, during the Great Depression, elk were a food source."
During the second half of the 20th century, efforts to replenish the elk population in Pennsylvania were successful, said John, who added that there has not been the threat of accidental meetings between elk and humans there.
"I spent 36 hours down there and went well over 200 miles within the elk range," he said. "I saw elk, I saw big elk, but I did not see a single elk during the day on a highway. I did not see elk on anything other than a back road while I was there."
John said herds in the Catskill Mountains would grow to about 600 in about 20 years over an area of about 1,100 square miles.
"The decision would then have to be made whether or not to move elk to other areas of the state or open up a limited hunting season," he said.
By William J. Kemble, Daily Freeman Correspondent October 05, 2001
CATSKILL - Town officials have been asked to support the release of up to 100 elk in the Catskill Mountains as part of an effort to restock several counties.
At a meeting earlier this week, Town Board members were told that the state Department of Environmental Conservation is expected to reach a decision on an application for the project late next year.
Wally John, a spokesman for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, said elk that had been native to New York state were hunted to extinction by 1847.
"When Henry Hudson sailed ... there were elk along the banks of the Hudson River," he said. "They were wiped out. They were gunned down. They were eaten ... (because) they were a food source during the (American Revolution), the French and Indian Wars, the War of 1812, and for farmers that settled all of the rest of New York state."
John said the demise of elk followed the vanishing frontier until the animal was reduced to several small herds, with most of the population consisting of an estimated 10,000 that remained in Yellowstone National Park in 1880.
"The elk were then ... relocated back to many places," John said. "By the turn of the century, elk were brought back to Pennsylvania ... very close to Allegheny State Park. That herd grew very well and basically created a native population of elk that lasted well into the 1930s ... when, during the Great Depression, elk were a food source."
During the second half of the 20th century, efforts to replenish the elk population in Pennsylvania were successful, said John, who added that there has not been the threat of accidental meetings between elk and humans there.
"I spent 36 hours down there and went well over 200 miles within the elk range," he said. "I saw elk, I saw big elk, but I did not see a single elk during the day on a highway. I did not see elk on anything other than a back road while I was there."
John said herds in the Catskill Mountains would grow to about 600 in about 20 years over an area of about 1,100 square miles.
"The decision would then have to be made whether or not to move elk to other areas of the state or open up a limited hunting season," he said.
