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Published Sunday, October 7, 2001, in the Herald-Leader
First elk bagged in Ky. in 150 years.
Lexington man takes 12-point buck as state offers rare wildlife event.
By Art Lander Jr.
ROWDY -- Tracy Cerise went to one knee and looked through the leaves for the right moment to shoot as the big bull elk materialized in the timber, its antlers swaying from side to side as it walked.
Cerise was about to make wildlife management history in Kentucky, and he wanted no mistakes.
"I had to wait for a clear shot, to do right by this animal,'' Cerise said.
Cerise, of Lexington, downed the 700-pound, 6-by-6 (12-point) bull at 8 a.m. yesterday, just minutes after six people embarked on Kentucky's first elk hunt in 150 years.
The six hunters' names were chosen from a pool of 9,235 applicants during a drawing held in July. The hunt will be conducted through Friday on the 17,000-acre Addington Wildlife Management Area.
Elk, like white-tailed deer and wild turkey, are native species that disappeared from Kentucky in the 19th century, but have been restored to huntable numbers.
"I want this hunt to be remembered as being successful in every way, so that everyone who helped bring back elk to Kentucky can be proud,'' Cerise said.
The elk herd is estimated to number 350, and hunters are assigned specific areas ranging from 1,800 to 3,000 acres, to pursue elk with bows and arrows, muzzleloaders or modern firearms.
The free-roaming elk live in a 2.6 million-acre "elk zone,'' from Prestonsburg to Pineville.
Cerise, 40, took the first bull of the hunt on a high-timbered ridge above a reclaimed mine site along Rattlesnake Creek, near where the Breathitt, Perry and Knott county lines converge. After Friday night's heavy rains, which let up at dawn, mist rolled up from the hardwood ridges that were just beginning to show fall color, presenting an incredible view of the University of Kentucky's Robinson Forest in the distance. "I scouted the area twice, saw a lot of elk sign and felt pretty good about my chances,'' Cerise said.
Four of the six hunters are from Kentucky. Joining Cerise were Jimmie Garrett of Jeffersontown, Elihu Hoagland of Island, and Gene LeBrun of Ashland.
The other two hunters are non-residents, Steve Stans of Fort Myers, Fla., and Corey Kiefer of Minneapolis, who obtained their permits through auctions in which the proceeds were donated to Kentucky's elk restoration program. Neither would say how much he paid, but the figure is thought to be in the thousands of dollars.
"I was the highest bidder for the permit at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation national convention and gave the permit to my son, so he could hunt,'' said Bill Kiefer. "It's an opportunity to pass on the hunting heritage and conservation ethic.''
At 1 p.m. yesterday, Corey Kiefer, 32, filled his tag, bagging a 500-pound 5-by-4 bull elk. "This is my third elk hunt,'' said Kiefer, who killed a 6-by-6 last fall in Wyoming.
Kiefer and Cerise were the only two hunters to take elk yesterday.
Stans, who has hunted elk in four Western states, came to Kentucky because he was impressed by a restoration program that is gaining national prominence. "They're doing a wonderful job and I wanted to help.''
Kentucky's elk herd, the largest east of the Mississippi River, numbers about 1,400 bulls, cows and calves.
Live-trapped from wild herds in Utah, Arizona, Oregon, North Dakota, and Kansas, the elk were transported by truck to their new home beginning in 1997.
Biologists think Kentucky's elk herd could grow to about 7,400 over the next decade, and produce bulls as large as anywhere in North America.
Hunting the herd as soon as it was biologically sound was a goal from the start, according to Roy Grimes, deputy commissioner for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. The $10 application fees for hunting permits help fund the restoration project, he said.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, a private conservation and hunting organization, has financed most of the restoration, about $1.4 million, with more than half of that money raised in Kentucky through the 12 local chapters.
The first elk taken yesterday was an unforgettable close encounter, said Ed Thompson, who lives in Fayette County and acted as guide for Cerise, along with Jeff Sartaine of Ashland.
"We worked that bull for 30 minutes, but it seemed like forever.''
Historic hunting.
The first elk.
The first elk taken in Kentucky in modern times, by Tracy Cerise of Lexington, was 41/2 years old, and was relocated to Kentucky from Utah in 1998 as a yearling.
The antlers, which had 41-inch main beams with an inside spread of 32 inches, were estimated to score about 240 Boone and Crockett points, which is determined by adding the length of all antlers, and other measurements.
Cerise shot the elk with a .50 caliber muzzleloader, a modern in-line rifle made in Florence by brothers Russ and Rick Markesbery.
"This is definitely my biggest elk,'' said Cerise, who has taken seven elk in Colorado.
First elk bagged in Ky. in 150 years.
Lexington man takes 12-point buck as state offers rare wildlife event.
By Art Lander Jr.
ROWDY -- Tracy Cerise went to one knee and looked through the leaves for the right moment to shoot as the big bull elk materialized in the timber, its antlers swaying from side to side as it walked.
Cerise was about to make wildlife management history in Kentucky, and he wanted no mistakes.
"I had to wait for a clear shot, to do right by this animal,'' Cerise said.
Cerise, of Lexington, downed the 700-pound, 6-by-6 (12-point) bull at 8 a.m. yesterday, just minutes after six people embarked on Kentucky's first elk hunt in 150 years.
The six hunters' names were chosen from a pool of 9,235 applicants during a drawing held in July. The hunt will be conducted through Friday on the 17,000-acre Addington Wildlife Management Area.
Elk, like white-tailed deer and wild turkey, are native species that disappeared from Kentucky in the 19th century, but have been restored to huntable numbers.
"I want this hunt to be remembered as being successful in every way, so that everyone who helped bring back elk to Kentucky can be proud,'' Cerise said.
The elk herd is estimated to number 350, and hunters are assigned specific areas ranging from 1,800 to 3,000 acres, to pursue elk with bows and arrows, muzzleloaders or modern firearms.
The free-roaming elk live in a 2.6 million-acre "elk zone,'' from Prestonsburg to Pineville.
Cerise, 40, took the first bull of the hunt on a high-timbered ridge above a reclaimed mine site along Rattlesnake Creek, near where the Breathitt, Perry and Knott county lines converge. After Friday night's heavy rains, which let up at dawn, mist rolled up from the hardwood ridges that were just beginning to show fall color, presenting an incredible view of the University of Kentucky's Robinson Forest in the distance. "I scouted the area twice, saw a lot of elk sign and felt pretty good about my chances,'' Cerise said.
Four of the six hunters are from Kentucky. Joining Cerise were Jimmie Garrett of Jeffersontown, Elihu Hoagland of Island, and Gene LeBrun of Ashland.
The other two hunters are non-residents, Steve Stans of Fort Myers, Fla., and Corey Kiefer of Minneapolis, who obtained their permits through auctions in which the proceeds were donated to Kentucky's elk restoration program. Neither would say how much he paid, but the figure is thought to be in the thousands of dollars.
"I was the highest bidder for the permit at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation national convention and gave the permit to my son, so he could hunt,'' said Bill Kiefer. "It's an opportunity to pass on the hunting heritage and conservation ethic.''
At 1 p.m. yesterday, Corey Kiefer, 32, filled his tag, bagging a 500-pound 5-by-4 bull elk. "This is my third elk hunt,'' said Kiefer, who killed a 6-by-6 last fall in Wyoming.
Kiefer and Cerise were the only two hunters to take elk yesterday.
Stans, who has hunted elk in four Western states, came to Kentucky because he was impressed by a restoration program that is gaining national prominence. "They're doing a wonderful job and I wanted to help.''
Kentucky's elk herd, the largest east of the Mississippi River, numbers about 1,400 bulls, cows and calves.
Live-trapped from wild herds in Utah, Arizona, Oregon, North Dakota, and Kansas, the elk were transported by truck to their new home beginning in 1997.
Biologists think Kentucky's elk herd could grow to about 7,400 over the next decade, and produce bulls as large as anywhere in North America.
Hunting the herd as soon as it was biologically sound was a goal from the start, according to Roy Grimes, deputy commissioner for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. The $10 application fees for hunting permits help fund the restoration project, he said.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, a private conservation and hunting organization, has financed most of the restoration, about $1.4 million, with more than half of that money raised in Kentucky through the 12 local chapters.
The first elk taken yesterday was an unforgettable close encounter, said Ed Thompson, who lives in Fayette County and acted as guide for Cerise, along with Jeff Sartaine of Ashland.
"We worked that bull for 30 minutes, but it seemed like forever.''
Historic hunting.
The first elk.
The first elk taken in Kentucky in modern times, by Tracy Cerise of Lexington, was 41/2 years old, and was relocated to Kentucky from Utah in 1998 as a yearling.
The antlers, which had 41-inch main beams with an inside spread of 32 inches, were estimated to score about 240 Boone and Crockett points, which is determined by adding the length of all antlers, and other measurements.
Cerise shot the elk with a .50 caliber muzzleloader, a modern in-line rifle made in Florence by brothers Russ and Rick Markesbery.
"This is definitely my biggest elk,'' said Cerise, who has taken seven elk in Colorado.
